Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The Great Match Race is a captivating account of America's first sports spectacle, a horse race that pitted North against South in three grueling heats. On a bright afternoon in May 1823, an unprecedented sixty thousand people showed up to watch two horses run the equivalent of nine Kentucky Derbys in a few hours' time. Eclipse was the majestic champion representing the North, and Henry, an equine arriviste, was the pride of the South. Their match race would come to represent a watershed moment in American history, crystallizing the differences that so fundamentally divided the country. The renowned sportswriter John Eisenberg captures all the pulse-pounding drama and behind-the-scenes tensions in a page-turning mix of history, horse racing, and pure entertainment.
Synopsis
In a fast-paced narrative--colorful, rich, and full of record-setting performances and towering personalities--Eisenberg chronicles the tremendous story of the year in which two horses would come to embody a nation galloping inevitably toward civil war.
About the Author
JOHN EISENBERG was an award-winning sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun for two decades and is the author of Ten-Gallon War, That First Season, My Guy Barbaro (co-written with jockey Edgar Prado), and The Great Match Race. He has written for Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, and Details, among other publications.