Tales From The Triple Crown

Steve Haskin takes readers behind the scenes to introduce them to the trainers, jockeys, and horses seeking the worlds most elusive sports prizethe Triple Crown. Haskins personal involvement, keen eye for a good story, and conversational writing style make readers feel like they are living the moment with him.

"In Tales from the Triple Crown, award-winning racing writer Steve Haskin takes readers behind the scenes to introduce them to the trainers, jockeys, and horses seeking the world's most elusive sports prize"--

With a trademark powerful stride amid a blaze of red and yellow silks, Justify emphatically crossed the finish line at the 2018 Belmont Stakes and became just the 13th winner of horse racing's elusive Triple Crown. One of the most charismatic and talented runners in the history of the sport, Justify was also one of its most unlikely champions; the late-blooming chestnut colt made his competitive debut only 111 days prior to that legendary victory. In Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory, veteran scribe Lenny Shulman (BloodHorse magazine) provides an insider account of this Thoroughbred's rise to greatness. Through extensive interviews and first-hand accounts, readers will discover the fascinatingly disparate cast of characters who were crucial to Justify's success, including trainer Bob Baffert, whose innate ability to identify equine talent also produced American Pharoah; Mike Smith, the 52-year-old jockey asserting himself in the miraculous third act of his career; and breeders John and Tanya Gunther, who believed in Justify's ability despite the developmental imperfections that drove buyers away. Packed with riveting action, keen insight, and behind-the-scenes perspectives on quieter figures like silent investors, international stakeholders, and unheralded training staff, Justify is an illuminating look at the modern Thoroughbred industry and an essential story for the ages.

Parade Knight hates her complexion. As a result, she considers herself to be unattractive and condones the misuse of her body. Sky Taylor is beautiful, fly and wanted and loves reminding Parade of her imperfections especially after suspecting that she may be sleeping with her man, Jay Hernandez. Miss Wayne is hilarious and a self-proclaimed girlfriend who enjoys the attention his friends bring. If you let Miss Wayne tell it, he s not gay, he s just one of the girls. Daffany Stans uses her body for profit and hides a health secret so serious that it could endanger the lives of her friends, considering their sex partners are so closely related. Black and Ugly is a tale of four totally different friends from the same block, whose friendship is tested during a seemingly innocent game of Truth or Dare. When fatal secrets begin to surface, will Parade give up the friend whose shadow she has walked in all her life? And will Miss Wayne and Daffany abandon their friends to save themselves? (This title was originally published in 2007)

He was always destined to be a champion. Royally bred, with English and American classic winners in his pedigree, Sir Barton shone from birth, dubbed the "king of them all." But after a winless two-year-old season and a near-fatal illness, uncertainty clouded the start of Sir Barton's three-year-old season. Then his surprise victory in America's signature race, the Kentucky Derby, started him on the road to history, where he would go on to dominate the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, completing America's first Triple Crown. His wins inspired the ultimate chase for greatness in American horse racing and established an elite group that would grow to include legends like Citation, Secretariat, and American Pharoah. After a series of dynamic wins in 1920, popular opinion tapped Sir Barton as the best challenger for the wonder horse Man o' War, and demanded a match race to settle once and for all which horse was the greatest. That duel would cement the reputation of one horse for all time and diminish the reputation of the other for the next century -- until now. Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown is the first book to focus on Sir Barton, his career, and his historic impact on horse racing. Author Jennifer S. Kelly uses extensive research and historical sources to examine this champion's life and achievements. Kelly charts how Sir Barton broke track records, scored victories over other champions, and sparked the yearly pursuit of Triple Crown glory. This book reveals the legacy of Sir Barton and his seminal contributions to Thoroughbred racing one hundred years after his pioneering achievement.

A gripping look at the great duel between Affirmed, the last horse to win the Triple Crown—comprised of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes—and his archrival, Alydar. From the moment they first galloped head-to-head in Saratoga Springs, the two chestnut colts showed they were the stuff of racing legend. Alydar, all muscle with a fearsome closing kick, was already the popular favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Affirmed, deceptively laid-back streamlined elegance, was powered forward by his steely determination not to settle for second place. In the Sport of Kings, the Triple Crown is the most valued prize, requiring a horse to win not just one race, but three: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. And 1978 would not be just for the record books, but also one of the greatest dramas ever played out in the racing world. There were names to conjure with, worthy of the Sport of Kings. The bloodline of Native Dancer. The teen wonderboy jockey Steve Cauthen. The once unbeatable Calumet Farm—the Damn Yankees of the racing world—now in eclipse and hoping for a comeback. The newcomer Harbor View Farm—owned by brash financier Louis Wolfson, who wouldn’t let even a conviction and a prison sentence for securities violations stand in the way of his dreams of glory. And the racetracks themselves: Belmont, Saratoga, Pimlico. And, of course, Churchill Downs. It has been thirty-five years since Affirmed and Alydar fought for the Triple Crown, thirty-five years when no other horse has won it. Duel for the Crown brings this epic battle to life. Not just two magnificent Thoroughbreds but the colorful human personalities surrounding them, caught up in an ever-intensifying battle of will and wits that lasted until the photo finish of the final Triple Crown race . . . and Alydar and Affirmed leaped into the history books.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER History was made at the Belmont Stakes in Summer 2015 when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown title, the first racehorse to achieve the momentous feat since Affirmed in 1978. Pharoah was the crowd favorite, as spectators had anxiously anticipated the American Thoroughbred's victory, already a proven winner at the year's earlier Kentucky Derby and Preakness races. By all appearances, American Pharoah has led a successful career, unmarred by any controversy as he was the undisputed champion-only twelve horses total in American history have won the Triple Crown. Unfortunately however, his training team has not fared nearly as well. With accusations ranging from sour business transactions to poor gambling practices to active litigation with bankruptcy courts and other legal cases pending, his owner Ahmed Zayat has many rooting against him. The flamboyant Egyptian-American businessman has been leading a double-life that has threatened to overwhelm his small empire. Victor Espinoza, the famed racehorse's relentless jockey, left rural Mexico only to face harsh conditions on a farm where he had to overcome his fear of horses before learning that he had a gift for race riding. Finally, Bob Baffert, American Pharoah's trainer, has an interesting arc that includes tremendous wins, personal losses, and controversial medication violations. Beginning with American Pharoah's modest showing at his first maiden race in 2014, New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape recounts the winning thoroughbred's explosive racing career by weaving in details of Zayat's questionable business practices, Espinoza's heartbreaking loss with California Chrome last year, and Baffert's temperamental, unreliable track record. By interviewing the parties involved and taking readers behind the scenes of the making of America's latest Triple Crown winner, Drape unfurls a tale "that transcends athletics, a story of adolescence and small-town life" (Publishers Weekly), and all the corruption, illegal gambling, and secretive business practices that can flourish in the shadows of greatness.

Triple Crown is the first biography of hockey great MarcelDionne, an account filled with stories from some of hockey's greatest stars,with terrific photos and tell-it-like-it-is commentary from Dionne himself. Ted Mahovlich, both a hockey insider and a writer with passionand admiration for his subject, sheds new light onto why Dionne has become amodel player for the modern hockey era. From Dionne's early years in Junior Ahockey--where he was branded a "traitor"--to personal insights intothe Summit Series and Canada Cups, from sex, drugs and hockey to a view of thepitfalls facing young players today, Triple Crown is a candid look at anunconventional player and personality.