How many times have you heard about some champion racer of the past and wondered just how good he was and what his career was like? Well now you can satisfy your curiosity with this new book from the DRF Press. Champions is really two books in one. First there is a nice summary of North American racing history for each decade with over 100 great photos from the DRF archives. Then to make it even more special there are lifetime past performance charts for 487 champion racers of the 20th century. This book is a wonderful reference book to have in your library and gives a great perspective on how much things have changed in racing over the decades.

Several Daily Racing Form editors and writers contributed to the text portion of the book including Steven Crist, Glenye Cain, David Grening, Joe Hirsch, Jay Hovdey, Dave Litfin, Jay Privman, and Paula Welch with a forword by Irwin Cohen. I found all the articles entertaining and informative and the photos were a nice complement to the them, with many rare pictures in addition to the expected shots like Secretariat winning the Belmont.

Especially enjoyable to me was reading charts for horses like the mare Imp who raced 171 times, finishing in the money in 126 of them. She raced from 1896 to 1901, sometimes running 6 times in one month at distances up to 2 1/4 miles. For someone used to the horses of today who often are hard pressed to race once a month, a career like this is mind boggling. Looking over the charts from decade to decade, you could see the pattern gradually shift from stamina to speed in thoroughbreds. All the Eclipse Award winners are included plus selected others from the time before that award existed.

Although the price is a bit steep at $75, this book is worth it if you enjoy racing history. This is a book you will find yourself referring back to many times to research the greats of the past.

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