Most glorious crown : the story of America's Triple Crown thoroughbreds from sir Barton to American Pharaoh

The definitive work on this rare coronation, this book delves into the history, personalities, and subplots of each of the 12 Triple Crown champions. From Sir Barton in 1919 through American Pharaoh in 2015, each Triple Crown winner has exhibited a true personality and charisma befitting of super stardom and renowned author Marvin Drager's prose brings to life these 12 remarkable stories. The Most Glorious Crown is a unique and fascinating inspection of each champion, their jockeys, owners, and trainers, as well as a riveting account of each race and the events leading up to each historic event. This magnificent oversized book includes more than 150 archival, authentic black-and-white photographs of each thoroughbred throughout different stages of its career. It also includes actual racing forms from each race for the Triple Crown. This new, updated edition features chapters on the 37 year gap between Triple Crown winners and 2015 champion American Pharaoh. In 2015, American Pharaoh thrilled fans across the world by winning horse racing's Triple Crown, one of the most coveted, elusive, and celebrated achievements in sports. Every Thoroughbred racing season over the past 140 years has opened with the hope of unearthing the next Triple Crown winner, but the prestigious Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes have been awarded to a single victor only 12 times since 1875. The members of this exclusive club are forever immortalized in racing lore, and their individual stories are as remarkable as their incredible athletic feats. This book is a fascinating account of the races that led to each horse's coronation. It is also a true biography of the champions--detailing what preceded and what followed their amazing victories; how each Triple Crown winner was bred, trained, and raced; and how each fared at stud and in retirement. From Sir Barton in 1919 through American Pharaoh in 2015, each Triple Crown winner has exhibited a charisma befitting of superstardom, and those attributes unique to each champion come alive on these pages. In the course of this history the men and women--owners, trainers, and jockeys--who inhabit the colorful world at this pinnacle of American sport are also unforgettably brought to life. And because the journalism of the turf has been used as a primary source, their utterances--of despair, hope and joy, have the immediacy of today's sports pages, as well as the patina of classic stories well told. The authors also devote an entire chapter to the most notable Triple Crown aspirants to fall excruciatingly short or to be otherwise derailed. The book includes the most complete collection of photographs of the Triple Crown champions ever assembled in a single book. It also includes a concise history of the Thoroughbred breed and of Thoroughbred racing in England and the United States, a glossary of racing terms, and a wealth of statistical and technical information. This is indisputably the definitive work on this rare achievement.--Adapted from dust jacket

The definitive work on this rare coronation, this book delves into the history, personalities, and subplots of each of the 11 Triple Crown champions. From Sir Barton in 1919 through Affirmed in 1978, each Triple Crown winner has exhibited a true personality and charisma befitting of super stardom and renowned author Marvin Drager's prose brings to life these 11 remarkable stories. The Most Glorious Crown is a unique and fascinating inspection of each champion, their jockeys, owners, and trainers, as well as a riveting account of each race and the events leading up to each historic event. This magnificent oversized book includes more than 150 archival, authentic black-and-white photographs of each thoroughbred throughout different stages of its career. It also includes actual racing forms from each race for the Triple Crown.

Presents a comprehensive history of America's Triple Crown thoroughbreds from Sir Barton in 1919 to Affirmed in 1978, and details their racing careers, how they were bred and trained, their owners, trainers, and jockeys in addition to an audio CD of the history of horse racing