Lexington - The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America s Legendary

Informationen zum Autor Kim Wickens grew up in Dallas, Texas, and practiced as a criminal defense lawyer in New Mexico for twenty years. She subsequently turned her attention to writing, which she studied at Kenyon College, and has devoted the last several years to researching this book. Wickens’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, Narrative Magazine, The Blood-Horse , and The Paulick Report. She lives with her husband and son in Lexington, Kentucky, where she rides in the dressage discipline with her three horses. Klappentext "The dramatic true story of the champion Thoroughbred racehorse who gained international fame in the tumultuous, Civil War-era South, despite going nearly blind, and became the most successful sire in American racing history. The early days of American horse-racing were grueling. Four-mile heats-races four miles long, run two or three times in succession!-were the norm, rewarding horses who possessed the ideal combination of stamina and speed, attributes that pioneering Americans prized. The stallion Lexington, named after the city in Kentucky where he was born, exemplified these winning qualities, encouraging a war-torn nation in those perilous times that the extraordinary was possible. After shattering the world speed record for a four-mile race, Lexington continued his winning career until deteriorating eyesight forced his retirement in 1855. But once his groundbreaking achievements as a racehorse ended, his role as a sire began. Horses from his bloodline won more money than the offspring of any other Thoroughbred sire-an annual success that led Lexington to be named America's leading sire an unprecedented sixteen times. Yet with the Civil War raging, Lexington's years at a Kentucky stud farm were far from idyllic. Confederate soldiers ran amok, looting freely and kidnapping horses from the top stables. They soon focused their desires on the prized Lexington and his valuable progeny. Kim Wickens, a lawyer and dressage rider, became fascinated by this legendary horse when she learned that twelve of Thoroughbred racing's thirteen Triple Crown winners descend from Lexington. She spent years meticulously researching the horse and his legacy-and with Lexington, she presents an absorbing, exciting account that will transport you back to the raucous beginning of American horse racing and introduce you to the stallion at its heart"-- Leseprobe Chapter 1 Rebirth Richard Ten Broeck had always been exceptional, though not entirely in the best ways. His path was curved. Always had been. As if, by forging twists and turns into the straightaway, he could create a more complex and grander route than one that was quiet and mundane. He was easy to spot if you knew to look for the steady stream of smoke rising from his cigar. Otherwise, his appearance was so unremarkable you might well miss him. Instead of neckties popping with color like those worn by most men of the era, Ten Broeck chose the black and understated d’Orsay cravat, always immaculately tied, worn around a stiff upright collar. Aside from his eyes, which were deep blue and impenetrably faraway, the rest of his face was unexceptional, hidden as it was behind a light brown beard that was trimmed to even-­sided perfection. Slim, medium in stature, he might have been mistaken for an oversized jockey. He enjoyed the misimpression and in fact occasionally rode his own horses in races. Even then, the cigar never left his mouth. But beneath the deadpan exterior was a master of wits who could bluff a royal flush while holding nothing but a high card, a risk-­taker so self-­assured that others thought he must know something they didn’t. He usually did. Always five steps ahead, Ten Broeck had already played out every conceivable scenario in his head before he made his next move. And so, when Richard Ten Broeck said he was going to accomplish someth...

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Kim Wickens
• Verlag: Ballantine
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 01.08.2023
• EAN: 9780593496701
• ISBN: 978-0-593-49670-1
• Seiten: 416
• Abmessung: 164 mm x 242 mm x 34 mm
• Themen: Ratgeber > Natur > Pferde, Reiten; Sachbuch > Geschichte > Sonstiges