Florida Thoroughbred - Softcover

Johnson, Charlene R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813012015 ISBN 13: 9780813012018

Publisher: University Press of Florida, 1993

Synopsis

Early thoroughbred breeders (mainly the bluegrass hardboots of Kentucky) warned that thoroughbred horses couldn't survive the Florida heat and swampland. "Stick to raising alligators", they mocked. Today the thoroughbred industry is a major business in the state (ranking third in terms of revenue), and race horses that are born, raised and trained in Florida gallop to worldwide acclaim. This account by award-winning turf writer Charlene R. Johnson is a complete history of racing and breeding in the state. Long known as a winter racing mecca, the Hialeah Race Track opened the "palm tree circuit" in 1925 with a dusty track, an infield of burned weeds, and no unloading facilities for the tired horses who arrived by train from New York. The first string to race at Hialeah unloaded in downtown Miami and walked ten miles to the track while grooms wielded baseball bats to protect the horses from snakes. The success - and quirky personality - of Needles, the first Florida thoroughbred to win the Kentucky Derby, coming from second-to-last position on the backstretch in 1956, accelerated the state's breeding programme. Johnson documents the business from the early era in Tallahassee in the 1800s to its unprecedented growth in Marion County, where limestone deposits in the countryside provide the perfect nutrients for healthy bones and cartilage in livestock. Interviews with first- and second-generation horse people contribute to this record. Among more than a hundred photographs in the book are shots of the famous captive flamingos at Hialeah, Rough 'n' Tumble's swimming pool at Ocala Stud, Carryback, the second Florida thoroughbred to win the Kentucky Derby, and Affirmed, the first to win the Triple Crown. Appendixes provide information on tracks, earnings, winners and breeder awards.

About this title

From the Author

This is a history of more than just horses!
Hi, I'm Charlene. Thank you for being interested in this book. This book is not just a history of Florida thoroughbreds; it is a history of Florida and it is a history of thoroughbreds in America, for Florida thoroughbreds have affected the sport world-wide.

This was a 2-year research project purposely conducted before all the oldtimers crossed over. The thoroughbred industry in Ocala, Florida is second only to Lexington, Kentucky for quantity and quality of world famous racehorses produced.

I was a turf writer for 15 years and that followed and went along with 20 years as a hands-on thoroughbred breeder, racer and farm manager. I was also the editor of the Florida Horse magazine and a wrote for nearly all the thoroughbred publications at one time or another.

I did many oral histories, researched and went through scrapbooks of owners, breeders and race track operators. I am pleased to say that this is the only authority on the subject and the reference material in the back makes the book invaluable: lists of every Florida thoroughbred winner, organizations, historical dates etc. But the best fun in writing this book was the fact that this isn't just a history of thoroughbreds, it's really a history of Florida, for the thoroughbred industry was one of the largest factors in shaping Florida in the early days. I think you will enjoy the characters, both human and equine, who shaped the prolific thoroughbred industry, and I certainly hope you enjoy this book

About the Author

Charlene R. Johnson served as editor of The Florida Horse and as staff writer for The Horsemen's Journal.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813012015
• ISBN 13: 9780813012018
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 387