95 Books Like D Is for Derby

Jimmy “Wink” Winkfield was an accomplished athlete of his day though his memory today has faded. Crystal Hubbard's powerful narrative and Robert McGuire's gorgeous drawings transport readers to another time and place and shine a light on the last African American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. I love how the story unfolds and shows a loving child growing into a determined young man overcoming every obstacle the world sets in front of him. The tale is timeless and the historical context provides an important learning point to open a dialogue between the old and young. 

A singular talent of his generation and arguably one of the greatest racehorses of all time, few are unaware of the feats of the immortal Secretariat. Prior to his record-breaking three-year-old campaign, it had been twenty-five years since the sport had crowned a Triple Crown champion. Through immersive illustrations and the words of the prized colt's jockey, Ron Turcotte, the tale comes alive to delight a new generation and bring those who were there back to the glory of the red horse.

With darling illustrations to engage children, the tale of an everyday racehorse and a future beyond the track comes alive. Young readers easily become connected with the story through the thoughts and feelings of the average racehorse. The horse loves the track and the thrill of the win, but when an injury upends his life, he faces an uncertain future. In the end, he finds an even better calling in helping a special group of children who benefit from hippotherapy. I adore the story of how the second act of the horse is the best one of all.

I adore the quirky, offbeat illustrations that perfectly compliment the tale of an underdog racehorse who proved the world wrong. During his life, Seabiscuit was a big-name celebrity once the right team of owner, trainer, and jockey found him. The tale of an unlikely hero resonates beautifully during our current troubled times. McCarthy manages to use an economy of words to tell the story well to the youngest of readers. 

If you love Kentucky Derby history, you can’t go wrong with any of Jim Bolus’s magical collections of Derby stories, but this is the book that kicked everything off.

I didn’t know when I first read it that Bolus had been a sports reporter with the Louisville Courier-Journal—the hometown newspaper for the Derby—for many years, but I was enchanted by his combination of a journalist’s keen eye for the nuts and bolts of a story and a storyteller’s sense of wonder and enjoyment in his tale.

Many years after my first encounter with Run for the Roses, I find its combination of facts and warm charm as great a pleasure to read as ever; this is one of those books that has become an old friend.   

Sullivan is probably best known today for his instant-classic essay collection Pulphead, but I actually prefer his first book, Blood Horses, a memoir he wrote in the aftermath of losing his beloved sportswriter father, whose special focus was horse racing and the Kentucky Derby. Sullivan, who cares nothing about horses and horse racing, tries to get closer to his lost father by covering the grand race and learning everything about the sport, and horses, that he can. This puts Sullivan on the grounds of the Kentucky Derby on the morning of September 11, 2001, while standing next to the Saudi owner of a celebrated racing horse. What happens when the Saudi’s phone starts ringing is too good to spoil here. An extraordinary memoir.

As a journalist, Wall reported on horse racing in Kentucky for many years before becoming a serious student of history, which makes her writing really readable. Today, most people classify Kentucky as a southern state, but before and immediately following the Civil War it was considered the west. This book explains the switch, giving horsemen credit for rehabbing the Bluegrass State’s tarnished image, albeit to serve their own financial interests. Besides introducing readers to the post-war history of Kentucky, it provides a useful introduction to horse culture. After reading it, you will understand why the Kentucky Derby is so steeped in tradition and why black jockeys, once so plentiful in the sport, are rare.

One look at Ruffian and you knew she was a star. Those long legs, that fire in her eye. And when she ran, it was nothing short of magic. Jane Schwartz captures the heart and soul of the brilliant filly from her wobbly first steps to her devastating last breath. And yes, this book will make you cry.

Kentucky is not a place many consider to have an adventure. Think again once you know what strange beasts lurk in its mountainous realms! Alex Gayhart is, full disclosure, a frequent collaborator of mine as an illustrator. Part of the reason I like working with him is that he understands that real life influences the fantastic because it’s often more bizarre than you can imagine. As a native of the state, his menagerie of invented Kentucky creatures draws from cultural jokes and hilarious satire in a way that makes one see myth in the most mundane places.

OK, I’m a pioneer junkie, and here’s the scene: Kentucky frontier, 1700s. Daniel Boone country, but he’s a minor character. I love the star of this show: Hannah, a large, strong woman who holds her own in this time and place. I love how she seizes upon her limited choices. As one of the few women in the settlement, all the unattached dudes want to marry her, yet she proposes to the one who’s too shy to ask.

I love that she values her own survival skills: plowing and hunting, chopping wood, weaving cloth, working until the moment she goes into labor. This is the type of woman who settled the American wilderness. She made me wonder about all those like her whose stories I’d never heard.