[.ca] Dr. Fager: Thoroughbred Legends (ISBN 1581500432)

Iron Horse of Racing:
When you read this book and see how much Dr Fager accomplisheed in his career, you have to marvel at this horse. While everyone points to Secretariat as the greatest os all time, I bet Dr Fager would have give him a run for his money ESPECIALLY if they ran in a sprint race(a race uner 1 mile). The single most amazing record Dr Fager held was his 1:20, 7 Furlong time. Its not just the time, look at the weight he carried ! Most horses would have collapsed or pulled up in distress, but the Dr kept on rolling strong. Steve Haskin did another noteworthy job on this one and it deserves to be in your Library. Best Regards to all, MC - TheStickRules.Com

The Real Deal:
Dr. Fager was the real deal on the race course. This book is a fitting tribute to one (of a handful) of the truely great thoroughbred horses ever. To call him the greatest sprinter ever would not even scratch the surface of his true greatness. In 1968 he was the winner of racing's so called "Grand Slam"--Champion Handicap Horse, Champion Sprinter, Champion Grass Horse, and Horse of the Year. This feat has never been duplicated before or since, and well may never be duplicated again. Even in defeat, his greatness came through. His only losses were to other Champions: Damascus, Buckpasser, and Successor. Compare that to Secretariat's loses to Herbull, Master Achiever, Fleet 'n Royal, Angle Light, Sham, Onion, and Prove Out (none of which were Champions, or for that matter exceptional horses in any way). Frankly, in a match race (from 7 furlongs up to 2 miles) no horse in the second part of the 20th century could have bested him. Sorry Secretariat, there have been a lot of triple crown winners, and 2/3 of the triple crown winners, and slews of Kentucky Derby winners, each would be hard pressed one on one to even contest Dr. Fager in a race. As this fine book points out, it took a bad ride (Bill Shoemaker is the only jockey who couldn't ride Dr. Fager), a rabbit (former world record holder Hedevar) and the stewards at Garden State (in the Jersey Derby) to defeat Dr. Fager. This is one wonderful book to be sure.