“ . . . absorbing chapters trace the history of shipping horses by air and equine personalities from the lovable Buckpasser to the vious Nevele Pride … A delight for racing fans.” -Publishers Weekly

No one was more knowledgeable about the Kentucky Derby than Jim Bolus, Kentucky Derby curator of the Kentucky Derby Museum, which is located on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

In this, his fifth Pelican book on the Derby, Bolus examines the mystique, the majesty, and the magic of the most popular horse race in the world through various essays.

“The Bull and the Sunshine Boys” recalls the 1986 Derby, which was won by Ferdinand. On that magical day, Charlie Whittingham, seventy-three, and Bill Shoemaker, fifty-four, became the oldest trainer and jockey, respectively, to win the Kentucky Derby.

Readers will learn the exciting story of the first Derby winner in the essay “Assault: The Little Horse with the Heart of a Giant.” The essays, including “Horses Have Their Own Personalities” and “Diary of a Champion: Skip Away,” all convey the magic of the Derby, somehow captured by author Jim Bolus.

Derby Magic