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Treasured Horses Collection
Pretty Lady of Saratoga
More than anything, Polly Canfield longs to see Pretty Lady in the winner's circle with a wreath of flowers around her beautiful neck. After she convinces a fellow horse lover of Pretty Lady's potential, the two devise a plan to train the filly for the prestigious Travers Stakes. Will Pretty Lady make it into the winner's circle at last?
122 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Deborah G. Felder
21 books1 followerDeborah G. Felder is a graduate of Bard College, where she studied drama and literature. She worked as an editor at Scholastic, Inc., and has been a freelance writer and editor for over 30 years.
She is also the author of four children's novels and two almanacs for children. In addition, Felder wrote the adaptations of popular children's books, The Three Musketeers and Anne of Green Gables. Felder has also written a number of books chronicling influential women and noteworthy events in women's history.
She is also the author of four children's novels and two almanacs for children. In addition, Felder wrote the adaptations of popular children's books, The Three Musketeers and Anne of Green Gables. Felder has also written a number of books chronicling influential women and noteworthy events in women's history.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 13, 2026
Written by Deborah Felder as part of the Treasured Horses Collection, Pretty Lady of Saratoga is a cute girl-and-her-racehorse story that unfortunately suffers from a serious lack of plot. Though it has some good themes, it’s definitely inferior to some of the other installments in the series because of its basic plot, amateur writing style, and undeveloped characters.
In the summer of 1925, twelve-year-old Polly Canfield of Saratoga Springs, New York, is fascinated with Pretty Lady, a three-year-old Thoroughbred filly who was once a champion racehorse but has lost her spirit to run after being mistreated by a handler. Polly dreams of training Pretty Lady so that she can enter races again, but Pretty Lady is abruptly transferred from Canfield Farm to the estate of her owner, newspaper tycoon James Harrington. There, Polly begins secretly visiting Pretty Lady and befriends a stable boy named Mike, who helps her train Pretty Lady for the upcoming Travers Stakes horserace. Training proves to be a more challenging process than Polly originally thought, however, and Pretty Lady’s path to victory will be barred by trust issues, unexpected revelations, and financial decisions.
In this installment in the Treasured Horses Collection, Felder elects to focus on the Thoroughbred horse breed and their heritage in horseracing, setting her story in the Roaring Twenties through the eyes of a preteen girl. We get some glimpses at 1920s fashions, slang, and horseracing culture, as well as some training protocols, horseracing facts, and higher-level tack terms like “cavesson” and “martingale.” There’s a big emphasis on the need for being gentle and patient when working with your horse, especially with one that has been mistreated in the past. Felder emphasizes natural horsemanship skills when dealing with traumatized horses, including a nice bit with the one-eye trick. I’m not sure how well-advised it is to romanticize the idea of two kids being unsupervised in a distant field with a skittish horse for weeks at a time, but I guess that’s a horse-girl book for you.
Felder’s writing in Pretty Lady of Saratoga is simple and straightforward, but her dialogue is unusually clunky and contrived. Between Polly’s first visit to the Harrington estate and the big Travers Stakes race at the end, basically nothing happens that’s not mundane training sequences and ambiguous conversations between Polly and Mike. I was also really disappointed that Felder didn’t take the time to develop any other characters besides Polly and Mike. As always, however, Sandy Rabinowitz’s simple black-and-white sketch illustrations are lovely and bring a great visual element to the story.
Polly longs to take after her father Bill, a famed racehorse trainer at Canfield Farm; her relationship with Pretty Lady is generic but integral to the story. Polly is compassionate, patient, and trusting, and her genuine love for Pretty Lady and her dogmatic belief that the horse can rise to her potential is heartwarming; she makes the fundamental mistake, however, of getting attached to a horse that doesn’t belong to her. Polly is the only one Pretty Lady trusts at first, and through them we see the power of a kid who is dedicated to a goal and who pursues their own dreams instead of their parents’ dreams for them. Our other main character, Mike Harrington, is a little bland but makes for a good horse-training partner; he loves and cares for the horses as much as Polly does, and while the little attraction that develops between them is unexpected for this series, Felder never lets it turn into an actual romance. Mike’s big storyline is that he wants to be a Thoroughbred trainer and not take over his dad’s newspaper,
It’s not that Pretty Lady of Saratoga is a bad story — it’s just kind of lame and bland and boring, with no big compelling moments or original storytelling. It’s cute and wholesome, just not memorable.
Link to Pretty Lady of Saratoga on Internet Archive
In the summer of 1925, twelve-year-old Polly Canfield of Saratoga Springs, New York, is fascinated with Pretty Lady, a three-year-old Thoroughbred filly who was once a champion racehorse but has lost her spirit to run after being mistreated by a handler. Polly dreams of training Pretty Lady so that she can enter races again, but Pretty Lady is abruptly transferred from Canfield Farm to the estate of her owner, newspaper tycoon James Harrington. There, Polly begins secretly visiting Pretty Lady and befriends a stable boy named Mike, who helps her train Pretty Lady for the upcoming Travers Stakes horserace. Training proves to be a more challenging process than Polly originally thought, however, and Pretty Lady’s path to victory will be barred by trust issues, unexpected revelations, and financial decisions.
In this installment in the Treasured Horses Collection, Felder elects to focus on the Thoroughbred horse breed and their heritage in horseracing, setting her story in the Roaring Twenties through the eyes of a preteen girl. We get some glimpses at 1920s fashions, slang, and horseracing culture, as well as some training protocols, horseracing facts, and higher-level tack terms like “cavesson” and “martingale.” There’s a big emphasis on the need for being gentle and patient when working with your horse, especially with one that has been mistreated in the past. Felder emphasizes natural horsemanship skills when dealing with traumatized horses, including a nice bit with the one-eye trick. I’m not sure how well-advised it is to romanticize the idea of two kids being unsupervised in a distant field with a skittish horse for weeks at a time, but I guess that’s a horse-girl book for you.
Felder’s writing in Pretty Lady of Saratoga is simple and straightforward, but her dialogue is unusually clunky and contrived. Between Polly’s first visit to the Harrington estate and the big Travers Stakes race at the end, basically nothing happens that’s not mundane training sequences and ambiguous conversations between Polly and Mike. I was also really disappointed that Felder didn’t take the time to develop any other characters besides Polly and Mike. As always, however, Sandy Rabinowitz’s simple black-and-white sketch illustrations are lovely and bring a great visual element to the story.
Polly longs to take after her father Bill, a famed racehorse trainer at Canfield Farm; her relationship with Pretty Lady is generic but integral to the story. Polly is compassionate, patient, and trusting, and her genuine love for Pretty Lady and her dogmatic belief that the horse can rise to her potential is heartwarming; she makes the fundamental mistake, however, of getting attached to a horse that doesn’t belong to her. Polly is the only one Pretty Lady trusts at first, and through them we see the power of a kid who is dedicated to a goal and who pursues their own dreams instead of their parents’ dreams for them. Our other main character, Mike Harrington, is a little bland but makes for a good horse-training partner; he loves and cares for the horses as much as Polly does, and while the little attraction that develops between them is unexpected for this series, Felder never lets it turn into an actual romance. Mike’s big storyline is that he wants to be a Thoroughbred trainer and not take over his dad’s newspaper,
It’s not that Pretty Lady of Saratoga is a bad story — it’s just kind of lame and bland and boring, with no big compelling moments or original storytelling. It’s cute and wholesome, just not memorable.
Link to Pretty Lady of Saratoga on Internet Archive
November 21, 2017
Wonderful wholesome story for young people.
August 12, 2020
For what this book is supposed to be, an introduction to thoroughbreds for children, I believe it was well written and gave a good overview of Saratoga.
September 18, 2021
Turtle just re-read and said: great! Return to library
April 7, 2026
That took me longer than it should have... This is what happens when you hang out with friends for two days instead of reading. 😂
February 22, 2016
That took me longer than it should have..... this is what happens when you hang out with friends for two days instead of reading XD
February 16, 2018
N read aloud. :-)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews