At the Wire

Dominating victories, great duels, and astounding rallies make up some of horse racing’s greatest moments. Award-winning racing writer Edward L. Bowen captures these and more in At the Wire, a compilation of nearly thirty races plus Breeders’ Cup highlights that have earned a solid place in America’s Turf history. Bowen describes the enormity of the triple dead heat in the 1944 Carter Handicap. He tells the unforgettable tale of the 1973 Belmont Stakes, in which national hero Secretariat ended a twenty-five-year drought of Triple Crown winners with a spectacular thirty-one-length victory. And he pays homage to the running battle between Affirmed and Alydar and its Triple Crown conclusion at the Belmont Stakes in 1978. For the updated edition, the author has added chapters on the 1995 Breeders' Cup Classic, in which Cigar capped a perfect 10-0 season, earning Horse of the Year honors; the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic, in which the mare Zenyatta won a spectacular race to remain unbeaten in her career; and the 2015 Belmont Stakes, which highlighted the greatness of American Pharoah as he became the first Triple Crown winner in thirty-seven years. Bowen writes of outstanding horses at their best in fierce competition and of their time and place in American racing history.