{"product_id":"florida-thoroughbred-9780813011981","title":"Florida Thoroughbred","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the preface: \"In 1774  naturalist William Bartram described the area just north of Ocala as covered with squadrons of beautiful  fleet Seminole horses on the great Alachua Savannah. But over a hundred years later  early Florida breeders would be scoffed at for their attempts to raise horses in Florida.\" Early thoroughbred breeders (mainly the bluegrass hardboots of Kentucky) warned that thoroughbred horses couldnt 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 racehorses that are born  raised  and trained in Florida gallop to worldwide acclaim. Long-awaited by people in the industry  this book by award-winning turf writer Charlene R. Johnson is the only 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  in 1956 (coming from second-to-last position on the backstretch)  accelerated the states breeding program. 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 rolling green countryside provide the perfect nutrients for healthy bones and cartilage in livestock. Interviews with first- and second-generation horse people contribute to this record--including Fred Hooper  winner of more breeders awards and racing honors than anyone in the United States  and Frank David (\"Buddy\") Yates  Needles gallop boy in the fifties and the son of Needles trainer  Roy Yates. Among more than a hundred photographs in the book are shots of the famous captive flamingoes at Hialeah  Rough n Tumbles swimming pool at Ocala Stud  Needles exhibiting his characteristic displeasure during morning exercise  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  breeder awards  and more. Charlene R. Johnson is a freelance turf writer and has been involved in all facets of the thoroughbred industry for the past twenty years  from breeding to racing  galloping on the track  to walking hots. She belongs to the Florida and National Turf Writers Associations and has published articles in The Thoroughbred Times  The Blood Horse  Spur Magazine  and Chronicle of the Horse  winning three national awards for her writing. She served as editor of The Florida Horse and as staff writer for the The Horsemens Journal  wrote a weekly column for the Daily Racing Form  and was the main correspondent for the Florida Thoroughbred Times. She currently is working on a historical novel based in Florida.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67924819083317,"sku":"ByrdShop_0813011981","price":100.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780813011981.jpg?v=1794141955","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/florida-thoroughbred-9780813011981","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}