Kelso (Thoroughbred Legends) Summary and Reviews

Kelso (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Steve Haskin

Kelso (Thoroughbred Legends)
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $15.89
You Save: $9.06 (36%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.34 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Steve Haskin
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-01
ISBN: 1581501013
Number of pages: 207
Publisher: Eclipse Press

Book Reviews of Kelso (Thoroughbred Legends)

Book Review: Well Researched Book About This 5 Time Horse of the Year
Summary: 5 Stars

I have been clamoring for the publishers of the Thoroughbred Legends series to do a book on Kelso, the only horse to ever win Horse of the Year in five consecutive years (in fact, no other horse has won it more than three times). It took a while, but author Steve Haskin has done a nice job of chronicling the life of Kelso, who raced until he was 9 years old and was a nation's hero.

Haskin goes through Kelso's early life, where he was not mature enough to compete in the Triple Crown series when he was 3 years old in 1960, but came around later that same year to dominate racing and win his first horse of the year honor. He dominated as a 4 year old to win his second and had something of an off year as a 5 year old, but still was ruled the best. Haskin documents his rivalries with 1961 Kentucky Derby winner Carry Back and with Gun Bow, who was his biggest threat to end his horse of the year streak. The racing world got so used to seeing Kelso run that he was sorely missed when he retired.

Since Kelso was a gelding, there is no discussion of offspring, so the book is a little short for a horse with such a long career. But Haskin does chronicle Kelso's last days very well, as he was shipped to Belmont Park at age 26 to lead (along with other great geldings Forego and John Henry) the post parade for the 1983 Jockey Club Gold Cup, a race Kelso won 5 straight times. But the trip ended up being too much for the old guy and he succumbed to a colic attack the next day. But he got to hear the cheers from the crowd one last time.

Kelso is one of the best books in the Legends series. I hope that they will do future books on Count Fleet, Tom Fool, Whirlaway, Cigar and Seabiscuit, all deserving to be chronicled in this series.

Racing Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Racing Books
Seabiscuit: An American Legend ImageSeabiscuit: An American Legend
by Laura Hillenbrand
Ballantine Books; Published: 2002-03-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.44
Price in other shops: $16.00
Native Dancer: The Gray Ghost Hero of a Golden Age ImageNative Dancer: The Gray Ghost Hero of a Golden Age
by John Eisenberg
Warner Books; Published: 2004-05-01; Paperback; Book
Green Bay Replay ImageGreen Bay Replay
by Dick Schaap
Avon; Published: 1998-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.95
Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son ImageBlood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son
by John Jeremiah Sullivan
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2004-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $63.84
Diamond Days ImageDiamond Days
by Stephen Michael Brie
Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; Published: 1990-06-07; Hardcover; Book
Dave Litfin's Expert Handicapping: Winning Insights into Betting Thoroughbreds ImageDave Litfin's Expert Handicapping: Winning Insights into Betting Thoroughbreds
by Dave Litfin
Little Brown & Co (T); Published: 1995-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.11
Price in other shops: $28.00
The Caesars Palace Book of Sports Betting ImageThe Caesars Palace Book of Sports Betting
by Bert Randolph Sugar
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1992-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.95
The Sun Guide to the Flat 2004 ImageThe Sun Guide to the Flat 2004
by Damian Walker
Willow; Published: 2004-04; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $9.99
The Course Inspector: A Guide to the Racecourses of Britain ImageThe Course Inspector: A Guide to the Racecourses of Britain
by Alan Lee
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 2001-12; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $24.99
The Horse God Built: Secretariat, His Groom, Their Legacy ImageThe Horse God Built: Secretariat, His Groom, Their Legacy
by Lawrence Scanlan
HarperCollins Canada; Published: 2006; Hardcover; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
John Henry: Racing's Grand Old Man (Thoroughbred Legends (Unnumbered)) ImageJohn Henry: Racing's Grand Old Man (Thoroughbred Legends (Unnumbered))
by Steve Haskin
Eclipse Press; Published: 2007-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.90
Price in other shops: $14.95
Forego (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageForego (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Bill Heller
Eclipse Press; Published: 2001-05-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops: $24.95
Man o' War (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageMan o' War (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Edward L Bowen
Eclipse Press; Published: 2000-04-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.77
Price in other shops: $24.95
Personal Ensign: Thoroughbred Legends ImagePersonal Ensign: Thoroughbred Legends
by Bill Heller
Eclipse Press; Published: 2001-11-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $24.95
Swaps: The California Comet (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageSwaps: The California Comet (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Barry Irwin
Eclipse Press; Published: 2002-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops: $24.95
Bold Ruler (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageBold Ruler (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Edward L Bowen
Eclipse Press; Published: 2005-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $24.95
Damascus (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageDamascus (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Lucy Heckman
Eclipse Press; Published: 2004-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.86
Price in other shops: $24.95
Spectacular Bid: Racing's Horse of Steel (Thoroughbred Legends) ImageSpectacular Bid: Racing's Horse of Steel (Thoroughbred Legends)
by Timothy T Capps
Eclipse Press; Published: 2001-06-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.93
Price in other shops: $24.95
Round Table: Thoroughbred Legends ImageRound Table: Thoroughbred Legends
by John McEvoy, McEvoy John
Eclipse Press; Published: 2002-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.00
Price in other shops: $24.95
Seattle Slew: Racing's Only Undefeated Triple Crown Winner (Thoroughbred Legends (Unnumbered)) ImageSeattle Slew: Racing's Only Undefeated Triple Crown Winner (Thoroughbred Legends (Unnumbered))
by Dan Mearns
Eclipse Press; Published: 2007-04-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops: $14.95