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Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America
by: Charles Leerhsen

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.1750929
EAN: 9780743291774
ISBN: 0743291778
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Sales Rank: 62974
Studio: Simon & Schuster

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
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.

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.

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 Crazy Good, 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.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Not so good
I was really looking forward to reading the book, Crazy Good but I just finished it and was disappointed. Oh, not in Dan Patch-a remarkable horse- but in the way the story was told. This is no Seabiscuit of a story. While it has a lot of stats it has much less heart. What I did get from the book was an insight into how cruel the world of racing is. Doping horses was as prevalent then as it is now and no matter how well a horse may be housed, ex-Barbaro, in the end it's all about the money.

Rating:

- Crazy good
Since I am a standardbred trainer I can relate to this book. I also think that everyone can understand and like reading a part of sports history. It is very well written and a very interesting story.

Rating:

- Superbly 'Good'
If you like horses and history, well-told at a brisk pace, this is the book for you. Charlie Leehrsen's prose seems effortless and keeps you reading, carrying you along for the ride. Even if you've heard of Dan Patch, you'll enjoy learning fascinating details from this book. Maybe it will inspire a movie, but if not, simply bask in the tale as it unfolds.

Rating:

- Amazing Horse Dan Patch
This book is an incredibly well written account of the life and times of the pacer (and equine celebrity) Dan Patch. The author took great care to include historical and modern day accounts of the people who were closest to Dan, and those who currently keep his memory alive. The flow of the book keeps your interest from waining. It touches on the practical uses of the pacer at the turn of the century, and the inevitble decline in the use of horses for transportation as the automobile came to reign supreme. The author discusses the differences in Thoroughbred racing versus Standardbred racing as well. In our current state of dependence on ever increasingly expensive gasoline to fuel our vehicles, I began to think we perhaps made a mistake when we gave up on the role of the horse as local transportaion.
I wish I could have met Dan in the flesh. He sounds incredibly personable, friendly, and talented; characteristics ... Read More

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