Dorothy Ours

If you don't like horses, pass this review right on by. If you grew up
like I did, thinking that horses were about the most beautiful creatures on
the face of the earth--Thoroughbreds in particular--you might just be
interested.

The problem with new biographies of horse racing legends is that they are
all going to be compared to Lauren Hillenbrand's marvelous book about
Seabiscuit. Hillenbrand chose the perfect racing legend. Seabiscuit was a
true rags-to-riches character. He raced during desperate times (the
Depression) and was fortunate enough to find fascinating people to take care
of him. The blend of history, society, people and horse was mesmerizing.

Ours probably thought that she'd chosen well, too. In a recent poll, Man o'
War was chosen as The Best Racehorse of the Twentieth Century. He was
beautiful, well-bred, won 20 of 21 races, carried tremendous weight on his
back and broke many track records. People fought their way to the racetrack
whenever he was to run. He was bred by a millionaire and raced by another.
His first jockey's license wasn't renewed and he lived under a cloud the
rest of his life. Got to be as interesting as Seabiscuit, right?

No, it doesn't. The only interesting millionaire in the pack was the owner
of Sir Barton, one of Red's rivals, and too much of the book was about Sir
Barton rather than Man o' War. At the end of the book, the reason for it was
clear, but it was still irksome. Despite its flaws, I liked the book. I
learned just how dishonest horse racing could be back then. How gamblers
could pay jockeys to fix races. How easy it was for trainers to dope their
horses so they'd run better. (Ever wonder why heroin is often called
"horse"?) I also learned things about Man o' War that I'd never known.

Unfortunately, I have to compare Ours's book to Hillenbrand's. Although a
page-turner, it falls short.… (más)