The Horse God Built

(Paperback)

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Description

Most of us know the legend of Secretariat, the tall, handsome chestnut racehorse whose string of honours runs long and rich: the only two-year-old ever to win Horse of the Year, in 1972; winner in 1973 of the Triple Crown, his times in all three races still unsurpassed; featured on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated; the only horse listed on ESPN's top 50 athletes of the 20th century (ahead of Mickey Mantle). His final race at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack is a touchstone memory for horse lovers everywhere. Yet while Secretariat will be remembered forever, one man, Eddie Shorty Sweat, who was pivotal to the great horse's success, has been all but forgotten - until now. In The Horse God Built, bestselling equestrian writer Lawrence Scanlan has written a tribute to an exceptional man that is also a backroads journey to a corner of the racing world rarely visited. As a young black man growing up in South Carolina, Eddie Sweat struggled at several occupations before settling on the job he was born for - groom to North America's finest racehorses. As Secretariat's groom, loyal friend, and protector, Eddie understood the horse far better than anyone else. A wildly generous man who could read a horse with his eyes, he shared in little of the financial success or glamour of Secretariat's wins on the track, but won the heart of Big Red with his soft words and relentless devotion.

Reviews

"Scanlan's scope is encyclopedic..."--Publishers Weekly

"The author's tribute is heartfelt..."--Kirkus Reviews

"...detailed in all its equine awesomeness."--Maxim

"...will satisfy those who can't get enough of Secretariat."--The New York Times

"...an informative read that hardboots and novices alike can enjoy."--The Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky)

"Eddie Sweat's story represents the last great untold chapter in the Secretariat saga. Larry Scanlan has honored both groom and horse by giving it to us at last. --John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son

"This well-researched book is a must for readers who are fans of the horse, but if you just want a good read, you're going to love this animal/human interest story."--Monty Roberts, author of The Man Who Listens to Horses

Author Bio

Lawrence Scanlan is the author of six bestselling books, including Wild About Horses and Little Horse of Iron. He is the co-author, with Ian Millar, of Riding High, and has written three books for younger readers: Big Ben, Horses Forever, and The Horse's Shadow. Scanlan worked closely with Monty Roberts on his acclaimed book The Man Who Listens to Horses. Winner of three Canadian National Magazine Awards for his journalism, Scanlan lives in Kingston, Ontario.