The Right Blood: America's Aristocrats in Thoroughbred Racing
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
The spectacle of thoroughbred horses dashing powerfully down the track is one of the most exciting of all sporting events. It is a spectacle that has captivated a diverse public for more than a century. Yet despite racing's mass appeal, America's northeastern establishment has dominated and controlled the sport since its inception. The Right Blood tells of the influence over racing of this select group of financiers, industrialists, diplomats, and philanthropists with family names of Belmont, Phipps, Vanderbilt, Whitney, and Widener. They formed the Jockey Club in New York City in 1894 to promote what was then their leisure pastime and have held onto the reins of thoroughbred racing ever since.
The Right Blood tells of the power of the men, and a few women, of the Jockey Club. Their involvement with thoroughbred racing is a window into their world-how they live their lives, conduct business, and view those outside their social class. Primarily, they have been white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant Republicans who have gone to Yale, played polo, volunteered for military service, and married within their own set. To follow these individuals is to trace corporate and financial America for the last century.
Using contemporary documents and personal interviews, Case traces the history of how Club members created and enforced the rules governing racing, from the first decades of the twentieth century to the present day. Jockey Club members have imprinted their view of the world on racing. For many members, the worth of men, as well as horses, lies in the blood. And, in the name of improving the breed and promoting the sport, powerful individuals have exploited the poor to work their horses, countered those who posed a threat to their interests, and excluded people of different backgrounds from horse racing. In all this, they have remained true to their vision of "the right blood."
Written for the general reader interested in the sport and its culture, The Right Blood is an engaging look behind the scenes of American horse racing
About the Author
Carole Case is a sociologist and author of Down the Backstretch: Racing and the American Dream and The Black Book and the Mob: The Untold Story of the Control of Nevada's Casinos.
The Right Blood: America's Aristocrats in Thoroughbred Racing,Carole Case,Rutgers University Press,0813528402,Animals,Biography,Horse Production,Horse Racing,Horsemen and horsewomen,Jockey Club (New York, N.Y.),Nature,Social aspects,Sports,Sports & Recreation,United States,American history: c 1800 to c 1900,American history: from c 1900 -,USA
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