This book was originally published in 1975 as BIG RED OF MEADOW STABLE. I read the book when it first came out, and I thought it was one of the greatest books ever written on thoroughbred racing. I finally bought a copy of my own in 1989, just a couple of months before my visit to see the great horse in Kentucky.
Perhaps because I saw Secretariat just weeks before he was put down, this book still brings the tears to my eyes when I read it. It takes a truly outstanding writer to write about such a magnificent subject, and Nack fills the bill beautifully. He traces Secretariat's lineage and of the history of Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, long the leading breeder of thoroughbred race horses. He writes in depth about Secretariat's races leading up to the legendary Triple Crown triumph of 1973. He writes about observers such as Charles Hatton, who spotted Secretariat's greatness immediately and who called Secretariat the greatest horse he had ever seen.
The only flaw in this great book is that it stops at Secretariat's retirement. There is no updated edition of this book. Perhaps someday Nack will write the rest of the Secretariat story. He certainly wrote a magnificent obituary about him in Sports Illustrated called "Pure Heart."
All in all a great book.