Dream derby : the myth and legend of black gold / Avalyn Hunter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hunter, Avalyn, author.

Series:

Horses in history (University Press of Kentucky)

Horses in History Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Horse racing--United States--History.

Horse racing.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Lexington, Kentucky : The University Press of Kentucky, [2023]

Summary:

"On the morning of May 18, 1924, households across America opened their newspapers to the headline: "Derby Winner Property of Indian Woman." The woman in question was Rosa Magnet Hoots, a member of the Oklahoma Osage Nation. The horse, draped in the iconic red roses signifying his victory in the fiftieth running of the Kentucky Derby, was Black Gold. In a sport defined by its exclusivity, the pair's unlikely appearance in the winner's circle set off a firestorm of speculation that would uncover an origin story stranger than fiction. Named for the oil that had been discovered in large quantities in Oklahoma at the time of his birth, Black Gold was born in 1921 to a mare named Useeit. At the start of her hard-knocking racing career, Useeit had been purchased by Al Hoots, for whom she won thirty-two of a staggering 122 races. What the mare lacked in regality, she made up for in gumption, a trait Hoots believed could propel her progeny to the hallowed ground of Churchill Downs. Hoots himself would never see Black Gold, dying unexpectedly in 1917. But the legend that came to define the horse would begin with him. Languishing in his deathbed, Hoots claimed to have a prophetic dream that a colt born to Useeit would win the Kentucky Derby. He extracted a promise from his wife, Rosa, to breed the mare to the stallion Black Toney. The decision, which came to fruition three years after Hoots's death, would set in motion a story that would forever change Thoroughbred racing. In Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold, author Avalyn Hunter explores the personalities and histories that surrounded Black Gold. Told against the backdrop of a make-or-break moment for American horse racing and politics at large and framed by the racial violence that rocked Tulsa in the 1920s, Black Gold's victory at the Golden Jubilee stands at the intersection of sport and history. Hunter's work looks behind every stall and tack room door and celebrates the hard work that goes into a great horse and its rivals"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Halftitle page

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Contents

Introduction: The Legend

1. A Man and a Mare

2. Useeit's Odyssey

3. The Queen of Juarez

4. A Month in New Orleans

5. Ruled Off

6. A Woman of Two Worlds

7. Bradley's Luck

8. Gold and Turmoil

9. Three Fingers and a Chief

10. Baby Steps

11. Hot Property

12. One Man's Dream

13. Mr. Derby

14. Kentucky Trial

15. Summer of Futility

16. J. D. Mooney

17. Converging Paths

18. Slim Chance

19. Season's End

20. The Road Less Traveled

21. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

22. Kentucky Bound

23. Preparations

24. Waiting Game

25. Falling Dominoes

26. And Then There Were None

27. Derby Trial

28. Golden Jubilee

29. Derby Aftermath

30. The Final Mile

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Horses in History.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8131-9806-2

OCLC:

1391438429