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Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby | 
 enlarge | Authors: Pamela K. Brodowsky, Tom Philbin, Inc. Churchill Downs
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $26.96 (77%)
New (20) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $5.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 89195
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061236551
Dewey Decimal Number: 798.400976944
EAN: 9780061236556
ASIN: 0061236551
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: GREAT Bargain Book Deal - like new, some may have small remainder mark - Ships out by NEXT Business Day - Over ONE MILLION Amazon orders filled - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The world's greatest horse race comes to life in the beautiful pages of this definitive history of the Kentucky Derby. Take a front row seat at "the Run for the Roses" with the first comprehensive history of the Kentucky Derby. The Derby is one of America's yearly iconic events that is watched by a huge cross section of the County––from the extravagant hat wearers in "Millionaire's Row" to the rowdy campers in the infield to the millions who watch from their living rooms. This stunning, full–color book is the official reference for the Derby, complete with a comprehensive history of the race, essential facts and statistics, and the gripping stories of dreams won and lost in every Derby since 1875. Relive each exhilarating two minute battle to the finish line as the moments and people who have made the race what it is today are revealed, along with fascinating trivia that every horse lover should know, such as Triple Crown nominees, famous disqualifications, starting post positions of winners, birthplaces, bloodlines, and more.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Is this a children's book??? December 9, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having written about the history of Thoroughbred racing all my life, I looked forward to this book. What a disappointment and an embarrassment. My criticisms and errata would take weeks to write, but I'll keep it simple.
1) The writing is pedestrian. I kept looking to see if this book was written for children, or the authors had previously written childrens' books. Why do people who don't know the English language think they can write, and why do publishers publish them?
2) The authors were lazy, often resorting to simply using initials for the first names of people. In newspapers and magazines in the 1800's and early 1900's, it was often style to simply use an initial rather than a person's full first name. Believe me, it takes a lot of research to find the first names of some trainers and jockeys, but it makes the material more accurate and informative.
3) If you're using this book for historical research, be really careful. Double check everything with another source. This book is loaded with factual errors, some of them as simple as "Judge Himes won by a nose." (Page 99). The chart on the facing page (Page 98) clearly shows that Judge Himes won by 3/4 length. If you know anything about racing, there is a huge difference between a nose and a 3/4 length. Such simple errors abound in this book.
Simply unbelievable.
 Good writers are out of work, and this gets published July 11, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'll give this two stars for the concrete information it presents, with racing charts, horse statistics and photographs of every winner, even in the early days. But this is one of the most poorly-written books I have ever read; there are times when it seems more like a grade school English assignment than a published reference book.
Sentence structure is frequently awkward, confusing, or hard to follow; comments that the authors seem to find cute are ridiculously infantile (do they really need to describe a poor field as running the "Palookaville Memorial"?); black stablehands are Stepinfetchit cartoon characters; and well-known racing facts are disregarded, replaced with incorrect assumptions.
The individual race recaps are sometimes neat and concise, but more often than not, they ramble into silliness (there's a comment that famous horse thief Pancho Villa, visiting the Derby, never finds out where the winner retired two years later, as if we expected he'd track him down), or miss key information that readers would be more likely to find of interest. Why not mention also-rans that later gained fame, or a horse's effect on the sport, for example? Go to 1930, and you'd never know Gallant Fox won the Triple Crown; go to 1964, and there's no mention of Northern Dancer's breeding legacy. And if you start a drinking game for every time you read the phrases "as it were" or "as they say", you'll be drunk long before you get to Swaps and Nashua - and that famous rivalry isn't even mentioned.
This could have been a triumph of historical data, brought to life with a deft hand; instead, it reads as if two people, with almost no knowledge of the rich history of horse racing, sat down with racing charts and newspaper articles, and tried to make a story of them. Beautifully bound and illustrated, this volume is ultimately a horrible disappointment.
 A great book about a great race! May 12, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you love the ponies, and if you get caught up in the all day pagentry of the Derby, then this book is a must have. It's history, traditions, human/equine stories and really just a labor of love on the part of the authors for one of the greatest horse races ever. It's a great read, and if you have been watching the Derby for years it will bring back some memories of the people and the horses.
A Great Book for any person that wants to learn about Horse Racing. April 17, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book has everything you would need to know about Horse Racing. It has all the charts of the Horses Family tree, all the charts of the horse that won the Derby. Plus Great Story's of each horse. Its a Wonderful book for who loves horse racing. You can learn on how to bet on a horse, by checking out there family tree. *Note* you can check out Barbaro's Parents family tree a long line of winners.
This Book is a 10 Star.
Chrispy
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