The History Press

It may not be the Kentucky Derby, but Saratoga Springs went to the horses long before Churchill Downs.

Since the inaugural meeting of August 1863, Saratoga Springs is home to one of the oldest sports venues in the country and has been the scene of memorable races, often featuring legends of the sport. Although some of the epic moments are still familiar today, such as Upset's defeat of Man o' War in the 1919 Sanford Memorial, many of the triumphs and defeats that were once famous have been forgotten. Few remember the filly Los Angeles, who thrived at Saratoga, winning sixteen stakes races, or the influential, sometimes suspicious, reasons why the track was closed three times for a total of six years. Authors Allan Carter and Mike Kane take a look back at these and other important but neglected stories and present statistics from the pre-NYRA years and a rundown of the greatest fields assembled at America's oldest track.

Champion Race Horses of the Empire State

From Saratoga to Belmont Park, New York hosts some of horse racing's most important races, but many of the most successful thoroughbreds of the past five decades also have called the state home. Say Florida Say seemed to only improve with age, winning thirty-three times throughout a seven-year career that made him a regional favorite in the 1990s. The first ever New York horse to win the Kentucky derby, Funny Cide, rose to national prominence in 2003, winning both the Derby and the Preakness in incredible fashion. The thoroughbred Audible shared owners with triple-crown winner Justify, and though embroiled in some controversy as a result, was also an elite race horse during a brief career.

Author Allan Carter highlights the stories behind the greatest New York thoroughbreds of the past half-century.

Ercel Ellis Jr. was born into the Thoroughbred horse business and has worked in it for seventy-five years.

He has been an owner, breeder, trainer, writer and radio broadcaster. His radio show, Horse Tales, has run for twenty years. For all his work, he won the Charles W. Engelhard Award for contributions to the industry. During his life, Ercel has amassed a trove of stories on some of the biggest names in Thoroughbred racing, like Mata Hari, Spy Song and world-famous Man o' War. He also includes stories of lesser-known horses like Dark Mirage, El Chico, Blue Peter and By Jimminy. Join Ercel as he entertains with fascinating stories from more than seven decades with Thoroughbreds.

In the early 1800s, Saratoga Springs was mostly a tourist destination because of its natural mineral waters and their healing powers.

But that changed in 1863 with the opening of the Saratoga Race Course. From then on, summers in the Spa City came alive with the excitement of the sport of kings. Since the victory of the great horse Kentucky in the introductory Travers Stakes, the racecourse has showcased the sport's greatest champions. Otherwise seemingly uncatchable thoroughbreds--including Man o' War and Secretariat--faced unexpected defeat on its turf, earning Saratoga the nickname the Graveyard of Champions. Author Kimberly Gatto chronicles the story of the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in the country, with tales of the famous people and horses that contributed to its illustrious history.

Untold tidbits of equine history is revealed by historian and seventh generation Kentuckian Foster Ockerman Jr.

Horse racing and the Commonwealth of Kentucky are synonymous. The equine industry in the state dates as far back as the eighteenth century, and some of that history remains untold. The Seventeenth Earl of Derby made the trip from England to Louisville for the famed Kentucky Derby. Many famous African American jockeys grew up in the area but fled to Europe during the Jim Crow era. Gambling on races is a popular pastime, but betting in the early days caused significant changes in the sport. Hidden History of Horse Racing in Kentucky details the rich and the lesser-known history at the tracks in the Bluegrass State.

In the bustling city streets of late 18th century Louisville began a tradition of thoroughbred racing that has transcended centuries.

Follow author Kimberly Gatto as she chronicles the history of the world’s most famous racing venue, which revolutionized the “Sport of Kings” and created the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and Clark Handicap races. Fans will enjoy the tales of various horses, from the early triumph of Ten Broeck over Mollie McCarthy to the Derby victory of the heroic thoroughbred Barbaro. Churchill Downs: America’s Most Historic Racetrack recounts the various financial hardships, the introduction of parimutuel betting, the construction of the famed twin spire grandstand, and how the age of television transformed Churchill Downs into the majestic track we recognize today.

Old Friends provides a dignified retirement to Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. Hear their stories in this heartwarming book.

Like many before him in the Bluegrass State, Michael Blowen, a former Boston Globeentertainment writer, fell in love with horses, specifically Thoroughbreds. The reality beyond the racetracks, he knew, was that each day a Thoroughbred was in the spotlight, for some of these distinguished athletes, their days were numbered.

For that reason, he dreamed of finding a way to give them a dignified retirement after they completed their rigorous racing careers. When he opened the Thoroughbred retirement farm Old Friendsin Kentucky in 2003, he never dreamed his idea would grow so big, so fast. Today, Old Friendsis home to more than 130 horses, many of them stallions, as well as geldings, mares and one loveable miniature horse named Little Silver Charm.

Join journalist and horse lover Rick Capone for the story of Old Friendsand the horses that call the farm home.

Over the last decade Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, has put a new face on the concept of equine aftercare.

When Michael Blowen first dreamed of creating Old Friends, he envisioned a place where Thoroughbred stallions could retire with dignity following their racing or breeding careers. He also wanted people to visit the iconic horses.

In 2003, Old Friendsopened on leased land with a miniature horse named Little Silver Charm, a gelding named Invigorate and a mare named Narrow Escape. Today, the two-hundred-plus-acre farm in Georgetown has more than 160 retired Thoroughbred stallions, geldings and mares, including two Kentucky Derbywinners. It even welcomed two satellite farms, one in New York and one at Kentucky Downsracetrack.

In his follow-up to History of Old Friends, Rick Capone revisits the unforgettable history of this horse retirement home.

On May 4, 1968, Dancer's Image crossed the finish line at Churchill Downs to win the 94th Kentucky Derby. Over forty years later, questions still linger over the origins of the substance and the turmoil it created.

Yet the jubilation ended three days later for the owner, the jockey and the trainers who propelled the celebrated thoroughbred to victory. Amid a firestorm of controversy, Dancer's Image was disqualified after blood tests revealed the presence of a widely used anti-inflammatory drug with a dubious legal status. Veteran turf writer and noted equine law expert Milt Toby gives the first in-depth look at the only disqualification in Derby history and how the Run for the Roses was changed forever.

In the months leading up to the 1971 Kentucky Derby, Canonero II was an unknown horse with a Venezuelan trainer who spoke only Spanish.

The Derby ""experts"" laughed when an exercise boy rode the horse out on the track with no saddle or stirrups. But the laughter promptly ended when Canonero II charged to the front from twenty lengths back to win the Derby, followed by a victory at the Preakness Stakes in track record time. In recounting Canonero II's quest to become the first Triple Crown winner since Citation, award-winning turf historian Milt Toby tells the compelling story of how one man's wildly improbable dream became the dream of a nation and how a bargain-basement yearling born with a crooked front leg became the ""people's horse.""