The answer came as a surprise. "I was at Secretariat's Derby, in '73. That was . . . just beauty, you know?" Sullivan didn't know, not really: the track had always been a place his father disappeared to once a year on business, a source of souvenir glasses and inscrutable passions in his Kentucky relatives. But in 2000, Sullivan, an editor and essayist for Harper's, decided to educate himself. He spent two years following the horse-both across the country, as he watched one season's juvenile crop prepare for the Triple Crown, and through time, as he tracked the animal's constant evolution in literature and art, from the ponies that appeared on the walls of European caves 30,000 years ago, to the mounts that carried the Indo-European language to the edges of the Old World, to the finely tuned but fragile yearlings that are auctioned off for millions of dollars apiece every spring and fall. The result is a witty, encyclopedic, and in the end profound meditation on what Edwin Muir called our "long-lost archaic companionship" with the horse. Incorporating elements of memoir and reportage, the Wunderkammer and the picture gallery, "Blood Horses "lets us see--as we have never seen before--the animal that, more than any other, made us who we are.

    In 1919 and 1920, he won 20 of 21 starts and set eight records, including three world records, while conceding as much as 30 pounds to his rivals and still beating them by large margins. His time in the Belmont Stakes stood for an incredible 50 years. Man O' War's last contest, and greatest achievement, was a match race against Sir Barton, the first Triple Crown winner, where he vanquished the Canadian horse by seven lengths. He was sire to War Admiral, Crusader, and Battleship, and was grandsire to Seabiscuit, who perhaps most of all inherited the indomitable spirit and great heart of the champion.With his distinctive blazing white star on his forehead and deep red coat, Man O' War was a major star in the first half of the twentieth century, and his popularity is credited with reviving the scandal-ridden sport of horseracing. Bought for $5,000 by Pennsylvania horseman Samuel Riddle, Man O' War ended up winning more money than any American horse up to that time. He lost only once, in a controversial race, and was so good that his odds of losing races reached an astronomical 100-1, even though he was heavily handicapped with more weight than any of his challengers. Rather than jeopardize the health of his horse under such enormous weights, Riddle retired him at the age of three. Man O' War lived for 27 more years and sired 379 foals, 61 of which were stakes winners. He became a legend in his lifetime, retired to Kentucky, cared for by his groom, Will Harbut, and visited by millions.In Man O' War, the classic biography by Page Cooper and Roger L. Treat, Big Red emerges as an unforgettable animal full of personality, good looks, and blazing speed. It is a dramatic story, as in race after race, other stables try to beat the magnificent horse with the tremendous stride and determine just how fast he can really run. Page and Cooper present Man O' War vividly and authentically, as he was seen by those who trained and loved him, and whose hearts rode with him as he raced to victory.

    Women of the Year profiles the ten fillies and mares that have earned Horse of the Year honors in American racing.

    They were up against million-dollar horses owned by patricians, oilmen, Arab sheiks, and Hollywood producers. They were ten regular guys, and all they wanted was to win a race. Instead, they won the hearts of America.In 2003, a three-year-old with the unlikely name of Funny Cide became "the people's horse," the unheralded New York-bred gelding who-in a time of war and economic jitters-inspired a nation by knocking off the champions and their millionaire owners and sweeping to the brink of the Triple Crown.Trained by a journeyman who'd spent over 30 years looking for "the one," ridden by a jockey fighting to come back after years of injuries and hard knocks, and owned by a band of high school buddies from Sackets Harbor, N.Y., Funny Cide became a hero and media sensation.Now, Sally Jenkins, award-winning co-author of Lance Armstrong's #1 bestseller It's Not About the Bike, tells the inside story of the Funny Cide team's ups and downs against overwhelming odds, illness, and even scandal, to capture the imagination of millions. It's a new American classic for the underdog in all of us.