{"id":5638,"date":"2016-05-10T08:28:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-10T12:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5638"},"modified":"2016-06-08T07:35:45","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T11:35:45","slug":"the-winners-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5638","title":{"rendered":"The Winner’s Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At Belmont, 2013 (photo: Vicki Weisfeld)<\/p><\/div>\n

Horses, horse people, jockeys, trainers, and touts. Watching the Kentucky Derby\u2014\u201cthe most exciting two minutes in sports\u201d\u2014last Saturday made me think of some of the great books about horses and the quirky, obsessive people who surround them.<\/p>\n

The horses are huge, but run on the most fragile of ankles. The jockeys are small, but mostly heart. Racing is a quick way to burn money. No wonder storytellers have capitalized on its dramatic potential.<\/p>\n

Horse Heaven<\/em> \u2013 by Jane Smiley. Smiley won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for A Thousand Acres<\/em>, yet I found this novel way more satisfying. She\u2019s developed a stableful of engaging characters as you follow the fates of several horses bred for racing, a risky proposition in the best of times. As much about people and their passions and predilections as about horses, of course.<\/p>\n

Lords of Misrule<\/em> \u2013 by Jaimy Gordon. Winner of the 2010 National Book Award, this novel is set in the lower echelons of horse-racing, among people for whom the twin spires of Churchill Downs are a distant dream. She has an almost miraculous way of capturing the way horse people think and talk.<\/p>\n

The Horse God Built<\/em> \u2013 by Lawrence Scanlan. This one I haven\u2019t read, but it was too tempting to include a book about Secretariat\u2014\u201cthe horse God built.\u201d Secretariat won racing\u2019s Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes) in 1973, with track-blistering performances. This nonfiction book is Secretariat as seen through the eyes of his groom and a story of friendship. This is one of six great nonfiction books about racing compiled by Amy Sachs<\/a> for BookBub<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Seabiscuit<\/em>, by Laura Hillenbrand, was made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Toby Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and real-life jockey Gary Stevens. A heartwarming story, this production includes footage shot from the midst of a race\u2014an unforgettable view of why this sport is so dangerous. Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating 77%, audiences 76%.<\/p>\n

Luck<\/em> \u2013 HBO. For the full immersion experience, try this nine-episode series, developed by David Milch. It\u2019s all-star cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Nick Nolte, Michael Gambon and, again, jockey Gary Stevens (who raced in the 2016 Kentucky Derby at age 53). The three touts, convinced they\u2019re on track for riches, are priceless. Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating 87%; audiences 78%
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