false 2216544 1 A hundred years ago, the most famous athlete in America was a horse. But Dan Patch was more than a sports star; he was a cultural icon in the days before the automobile. Born crippled and unable to stand, he was nearly euthanized. For a while, he pulled the grocer's wagon in his hometown of Oxford, Indiana. But when he was entered in a race at the county fair, he won -- and he kept on winning. Harness racing was the top sport in America at the time, and Dan, a pacer, set the world record for the mile. He eventually lowered the mark by four seconds, an unheard-of achievement that would not be surpassed for decades.<P>America loved Dan Patch, who, though kind and gentle, seemed to understand that he was a superstar: he acknowledged applause from the grandstands with a nod or two of his majestic head and stopped as if to pose when he saw a camera. He became the first celebrity sports endorser; his name appeared on breakfast cereals, washing machines, cigars, razors, and sleds. At a time when the highest-paid baseball player, Ty Cobb, was making $12,000 a year, Dan Patch was earning over a million dollars.<P>But even then horse racing attracted hustlers, cheats, and touts. Drivers and owners bet heavily on races, which were often fixed; horses were drugged with whiskey or cocaine, or switched off with "ringers." Although Dan never lost a race, some of his races were rigged so that large sums of money could change hands. Dan's original owner was intimidated into selling him, and America's favorite horse spent the second half of his career touring the country in a plush private railroad car and putting on speed shows for crowds that sometimes exceeded 100,000 people. But the automobile cooled America's romance with the horse, and by the time he died in 1916, Dan was all but forgotten. His last owner, a Minnesota entrepreneur gone bankrupt, buried him in an unmarked grave. His achievements have faded, but throughout the years, a faithful few kept alive the legend of Dan Patch, and in <I>Crazy Good</i>, Charles Leerhsen travels through their world to bring back to life this fascinating story of triumph and treachery in small-town America and big-city racetracks. 2222332 20 5 2008 Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America total:26|5:3|4:12|3:9|2:2| 26 94 66 11 2 0 false false Mon Jul 21 15:15:56 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 15:23:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 10:50:10 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 11:01:06 -0700 2008 His world record...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jul 28 08:33:03 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 06:34:54 -0700 2008
I read this for a while but it wasn't as interestin...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 18 09:29:35 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 09:31:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Oct 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 08 10:43:27 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 08 10:54:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jun 18 19:04:16 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 20:17:11 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Mon Nov 17 06:37:43 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 12:09:57 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 06:37:43 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Thu Sep 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 10:58:22 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 10:59:22 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Jun 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 19 06:31:58 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 18:38:15 -0700 2008 RAVES.]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 17 04:43:40 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 04:44:29 -0700 2008
If you loved Seabiscuit....]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 08 19:10:38 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 19:12:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Aug 18 09:58:22 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 09:58:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 27 10:02:34 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 10:02:34 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jul 18 19:11:22 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 19:11:22 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jul 06 11:48:24 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 11:48:24 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jul 03 14:21:33 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 14:21:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jun 12 08:59:17 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 08:59:17 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 23 05:26:30 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 05:26:30 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun May 03 19:50:23 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 19:50:23 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri May 01 18:15:36 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 18:16:05 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2216544