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Here Comes Exterminator!: The Longshot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero
The father of the Kentucky Derby called him “the greatest all-around Thoroughbred in American racing history.” Sportswriter Grantland Rice simply called him “the greatest racehorse.” Now Eliza McGraw tells the story of how a gangling, long-shot Kentucky Derby winner named Exterminator became one of the most beloved racehorses of all time.
Here Comes Exterminator! draws readers into the golden age of racing, with all its ups and downs, the ever-involving interplay of horses and people, and the beauty, grace, fear, and hope that are a daily part of life at the track. Caught between his hotheaded millionaire owner and his knowledgeable trainer, Exterminator captured fans’ affection with his personality, consistency, athleticism, and heart.
Exterminator’s staggering success would dramatically change the world of horse-racing. He challenged the notion that American horses would never live up to Europe’s meticulously charted bloodlines and became a patriotic icon of the country after World War I. And his longevity established him as one of the public’s most beloved athletes, paving the way for equine celebrities like Seabiscuit and showing Americans they could claim—and love—a famous racehorse as their own.
Here Comes Exterminator! draws readers into the golden age of racing, with all its ups and downs, the ever-involving interplay of horses and people, and the beauty, grace, fear, and hope that are a daily part of life at the track. Caught between his hotheaded millionaire owner and his knowledgeable trainer, Exterminator captured fans’ affection with his personality, consistency, athleticism, and heart.
Exterminator’s staggering success would dramatically change the world of horse-racing. He challenged the notion that American horses would never live up to Europe’s meticulously charted bloodlines and became a patriotic icon of the country after World War I. And his longevity established him as one of the public’s most beloved athletes, paving the way for equine celebrities like Seabiscuit and showing Americans they could claim—and love—a famous racehorse as their own.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published April 26, 2016
11 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
About the author
Eliza McGraw
9 books3 followersEliza McGraw is the author of Here Comes Exterminator! as well as two academic books. She’s a contributing writer for EQUUS magazine, and her work has appeared in The Chronicle of the Horse, The Blood-Horse, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, and on Raceday 360. She has contributed to the New York Times' racing blog, and the Washington Post. She earned degrees in English from Columbia University and Vanderbilt University. Eliza lives in Washington, D.C., with her family, and keeps her horse in Potomac, Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 2, 2016
I am a huge fan of horses. I was excited to discover a new book (2016) published about a horse. Eliza McGrew’s biography of the 1918 Kentucky Derby winner Exterminator is a great read. Exterminator stood at 17 hands, a gelding and was a skinny ungainly looking horse with a white heart in the middle of his forehead. He was a 30 to one long shot in the Derby and he caught the eye of the working man. Exterminator ran 99 times and won 50 races and 20 of them carrying a weight of 130 or more pounds; this is unheard of in today’s world of racing. During the first part of his career, after the Derby, he was sent into a race as the second horse to Sun Briar to run interference and set up Sun Briar to win. It was felt by the trainer he could have won most of those races. That is no longer allowed in today’s racing. Most racehorses have a companion; this can range from a hen, goat, small pony, another horse or more commonly a cat. Exterminator’s companion was a pony named Peanut.
At this time people were tired of war and Exterminator provided them a brief escape. McGrew provides a review of this history and a look into the culture of the time. It was the time when Vanderbilt, Hancock, Belmont and Travis were the big names in horse racing and breeding. The big name horses were Man O’War and Sir Barton and then there was this skinny, ugly horse that could win and win. Exterminator never raced against Man O’War but I sure wished they could have faced each other. McGrew provides the history of racing and horses during World War One. I was interested in the section about Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin who was the founder of Santa Anita Racetrack on his estate lands. Baldwin came to San Francisco for the gold rush but became a merchant, hotel owner and early member of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. He then bought several successful mines in the Comstock Lode. He later moved to Southern California where he became a land baron.
The book is well written and researched. McGrew successfully transports the reader into the gilded age of horse racing. If you like horses you will enjoy the story of “old bones the wonder horse”. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Nicol Zanzarella does a good job narrating the book. Zanzarella is an actress, author and award winning audiobook narrator.
At this time people were tired of war and Exterminator provided them a brief escape. McGrew provides a review of this history and a look into the culture of the time. It was the time when Vanderbilt, Hancock, Belmont and Travis were the big names in horse racing and breeding. The big name horses were Man O’War and Sir Barton and then there was this skinny, ugly horse that could win and win. Exterminator never raced against Man O’War but I sure wished they could have faced each other. McGrew provides the history of racing and horses during World War One. I was interested in the section about Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin who was the founder of Santa Anita Racetrack on his estate lands. Baldwin came to San Francisco for the gold rush but became a merchant, hotel owner and early member of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. He then bought several successful mines in the Comstock Lode. He later moved to Southern California where he became a land baron.
The book is well written and researched. McGrew successfully transports the reader into the gilded age of horse racing. If you like horses you will enjoy the story of “old bones the wonder horse”. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Nicol Zanzarella does a good job narrating the book. Zanzarella is an actress, author and award winning audiobook narrator.
June 12, 2016
This book is not as long as my "I've been reading it forever" pace implies. It's just that every time I pick it up I end up watching old video of horse races on YouTube and getting lost in Wikipedia as I look up the people and stories. Then I gave away my book to someone I thought would like it and just picked up a second copy today to finish it.
Here's what I knew about horse racing before starting this book: "There was a horse named Seabiscuit. They made a movie about him (or is it her - do girl horses race?). Maybe Angelina Jolie was in it? It's sad that they shoot horses. I don't think I would look good in one of those big hats." Literally. That's it. I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend who has an enormous amount of knowledge on the subject and I trusted her judgement.
The first half of the book was slower reading in that it was packed with history, with background, and with context that helps to understand why, although he never posted the times that Man o' War did, Exterminator nonetheless captured the hearts and imagination of America in a way no other horse ever had. McGraw had incredible access to family members and original sources and the roughly 80 pages of notes and bibliography testify to the research that went into the book.
The second half of the book breezes by so quickly as we come to see Exterminator transform into a celebrity just as surely as any movie idol of the time; he even got a profile in Vanity Fair! By the end of the book I reached the point where I was truly sad that I could never see Exterminator myself. His personality really came through in McGraw's writing and I just wanted to hug that big goofy horse and his best buddy Peanuts (1-3). I was really moved by the love Exterminator had for racing and the long and painful last years of his career. I'm not going to lie, I cried through most of the last 20 or so pages. Perhaps Exterminator was best summed up by a quote from an unnamed reporter, "Turf fans worshipped many horses...But they loved Old Bones."
I really enjoyed this book and I would love to see a movie made about the relationship that formed the primary bond of the book, that of Exterminator and his long-term trainer, Henry McDaniel.
Here's what I knew about horse racing before starting this book: "There was a horse named Seabiscuit. They made a movie about him (or is it her - do girl horses race?). Maybe Angelina Jolie was in it? It's sad that they shoot horses. I don't think I would look good in one of those big hats." Literally. That's it. I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend who has an enormous amount of knowledge on the subject and I trusted her judgement.
The first half of the book was slower reading in that it was packed with history, with background, and with context that helps to understand why, although he never posted the times that Man o' War did, Exterminator nonetheless captured the hearts and imagination of America in a way no other horse ever had. McGraw had incredible access to family members and original sources and the roughly 80 pages of notes and bibliography testify to the research that went into the book.
The second half of the book breezes by so quickly as we come to see Exterminator transform into a celebrity just as surely as any movie idol of the time; he even got a profile in Vanity Fair! By the end of the book I reached the point where I was truly sad that I could never see Exterminator myself. His personality really came through in McGraw's writing and I just wanted to hug that big goofy horse and his best buddy Peanuts (1-3). I was really moved by the love Exterminator had for racing and the long and painful last years of his career. I'm not going to lie, I cried through most of the last 20 or so pages. Perhaps Exterminator was best summed up by a quote from an unnamed reporter, "Turf fans worshipped many horses...But they loved Old Bones."
I really enjoyed this book and I would love to see a movie made about the relationship that formed the primary bond of the book, that of Exterminator and his long-term trainer, Henry McDaniel.
July 14, 2016
This book is a great read and is about way more than horses. It captures the time and place of WWI-era America with studious and absorbing attention to detail. It’s true, if cliche-sounding, to say that Eliza McGraw has done for Exterminator what Hillenbrand did for Seabiscuit, telling his story from muddy birth to quiet burial and making us love him.
But her Exterminator is not the flashy type. “His neck was long and slender, and your eye caught on that white rounded triangle in the middle of his forehead,” she writes. “Resting, he looked elderly, with mule-long ears and eyes deep set beneath small hollows. He was long and tall and skinny. He looked like he should have been hitched to a family buggy for Sunday drives.”
Horses were still the dominant form of transportation when the book opens and they are at the forefront of daily conversation, so a special horse then was like a favorite kind of bacon, or the best pickle in the world by today’s standard. A media darling. Funny thing was that Exterminator’s owner, a man who essentially made his fortune as a snake oil salesman, is one of the last to realize this. He only buys the horse to help train his ‘real’ star, Sun Briar. Exterminator’s sire (his pa) was named after an insurance agent. His ma was referred to as a “washerwoman” by turf writers disparaging of her lineage.
One thing I enjoyed is how the pictures are interspersed with the text in a more engaging way than the typical non-fiction book that plops glossy pages in the middle of the book. You can see Exterminator’s calm demeanor alongside the puffed-up pride of his owner in places where it makes sense to gaze at these old photos. The shots of races or flower-draped winners, or the trainer who early on staked his reputation on the ungainly gelding, increase the reader’s affection for these characters.
We learn a lot about horses in this book, though I don’t want to spoil your discoveries along the way by listing them here. Because I have the privilege of knowing Eliza McGraw I can tell you that she is every bit as brilliant as her writing and research demonstrates, and that readers are putting themselves in the hands of an expert. But don’t take my word for it. Read hers:
The telling details: “Racing’s future seemed unsteady. Well before they knew that World War I would contain the last grand American cavalry effort, horsemen were fighting battles because of a welter of concerns, including the American preoccupations with blood, a denuded army remount, and the ever-nearing war. This tangle would affect everyone in racing, including Willis Sharpe Kilmer, Henry McDaniel, and the dark, wet foal taking his first gulps of spring Kentucky air.”
The wry commentary: “In 1909, Corrigan sold McGee to Charles W. Moore, a man-about-the-tracks Kentuckian who wore a wide-brimmed white hat all year round, and swung a hickory stick when he walked.”
The beautiful description: “Time sped along. McDaniel was a veteran. He lived the horses’ life: the sweet smell of hay, the muffled clatter of shod hooves on hay-strewn brick aisleways, sparrow’s picking at spilled grain in dawn’s shaky light.”
When you read Exterminator’s story you get such crisp details that its almost like looking into the past through one of those coin-operated binocular viewing scopes.
But her Exterminator is not the flashy type. “His neck was long and slender, and your eye caught on that white rounded triangle in the middle of his forehead,” she writes. “Resting, he looked elderly, with mule-long ears and eyes deep set beneath small hollows. He was long and tall and skinny. He looked like he should have been hitched to a family buggy for Sunday drives.”
Horses were still the dominant form of transportation when the book opens and they are at the forefront of daily conversation, so a special horse then was like a favorite kind of bacon, or the best pickle in the world by today’s standard. A media darling. Funny thing was that Exterminator’s owner, a man who essentially made his fortune as a snake oil salesman, is one of the last to realize this. He only buys the horse to help train his ‘real’ star, Sun Briar. Exterminator’s sire (his pa) was named after an insurance agent. His ma was referred to as a “washerwoman” by turf writers disparaging of her lineage.
One thing I enjoyed is how the pictures are interspersed with the text in a more engaging way than the typical non-fiction book that plops glossy pages in the middle of the book. You can see Exterminator’s calm demeanor alongside the puffed-up pride of his owner in places where it makes sense to gaze at these old photos. The shots of races or flower-draped winners, or the trainer who early on staked his reputation on the ungainly gelding, increase the reader’s affection for these characters.
We learn a lot about horses in this book, though I don’t want to spoil your discoveries along the way by listing them here. Because I have the privilege of knowing Eliza McGraw I can tell you that she is every bit as brilliant as her writing and research demonstrates, and that readers are putting themselves in the hands of an expert. But don’t take my word for it. Read hers:
The telling details: “Racing’s future seemed unsteady. Well before they knew that World War I would contain the last grand American cavalry effort, horsemen were fighting battles because of a welter of concerns, including the American preoccupations with blood, a denuded army remount, and the ever-nearing war. This tangle would affect everyone in racing, including Willis Sharpe Kilmer, Henry McDaniel, and the dark, wet foal taking his first gulps of spring Kentucky air.”
The wry commentary: “In 1909, Corrigan sold McGee to Charles W. Moore, a man-about-the-tracks Kentuckian who wore a wide-brimmed white hat all year round, and swung a hickory stick when he walked.”
The beautiful description: “Time sped along. McDaniel was a veteran. He lived the horses’ life: the sweet smell of hay, the muffled clatter of shod hooves on hay-strewn brick aisleways, sparrow’s picking at spilled grain in dawn’s shaky light.”
When you read Exterminator’s story you get such crisp details that its almost like looking into the past through one of those coin-operated binocular viewing scopes.
March 23, 2017
More on Exterminator than just the enticing morsel in "Old Bones". He was a fascinating horse with an honest heart. Too bad his owner was Kilmer, who was fixated on his pretty stud Sun Briar. In races with Sun Briar, he had Exterminator held back so Sun Briar could win - which was legal then with the owner or trainer stating that the horse would be held back to allow his stablemate to beat him. Then, toward the end of his racing career when he was having physical problems, he entered him in a lot of races in order to pass the winnings of Man O'War. There was real affection between him and his trainer. His trainer just couldn't take Kilmer anymore. Kilmer was notorious for running through trainers, thinking he knew all about racing and horses....
The book tries to portray Kilmer in an understanding light, but I still didn't like him. He came across as a better person than in "Old Bones", but I still thought him obnoxious. But, Exterminator and Henry McDaniel were the stars and the best characters.
The book tries to portray Kilmer in an understanding light, but I still didn't like him. He came across as a better person than in "Old Bones", but I still thought him obnoxious. But, Exterminator and Henry McDaniel were the stars and the best characters.
July 21, 2022
2.5
While Exterminator was every bit as great as Man 'o War and Seabiscuit, this book lacks the character and color of those horse's biographies.
I appreciated the historical context I didn't have a horse-crazy kid reading Old Bones the Wonder Horse, but the revolving door of trainers, coupled with the lackluster race coverage, sinks this one. Horse books focus on the personalities of the people involved or the excitement of the race and the only person that sticks around from start to finish here is a racehorse owner who cheats on his many wives, fights with his trainers, and doesn't like his horse very much. Very little of Exterminator's personality or behavior makes it to the page.
Exterminator was a champ in the mud but even he would have a hard time getting through this slog.
While Exterminator was every bit as great as Man 'o War and Seabiscuit, this book lacks the character and color of those horse's biographies.
I appreciated the historical context I didn't have a horse-crazy kid reading Old Bones the Wonder Horse, but the revolving door of trainers, coupled with the lackluster race coverage, sinks this one. Horse books focus on the personalities of the people involved or the excitement of the race and the only person that sticks around from start to finish here is a racehorse owner who cheats on his many wives, fights with his trainers, and doesn't like his horse very much. Very little of Exterminator's personality or behavior makes it to the page.
Exterminator was a champ in the mud but even he would have a hard time getting through this slog.
July 21, 2016
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Here Comes Exterminator is the story of a long legged, determined, strong horse that won half the races he entered with power, determination, and grace. This story will cling to your heart and bring tears to your eyes when he passes, although you know it inevitably will happen. Exterminator had so much heart and winning drive that even a non-horse lover will wish him to win every race. It is also the story of H. McDaniel and W. Kilmer, trainer and owner, who encouraged and trained him to always be his best, even when his best was difficult to deliver. A wonderful book that everyone who loves truth and values research will love.
February 22, 2017
As a horse racing fan, I learned a lot about a great horse whose story I had never heard. But as a read, it was just average. Too many pages were a simple list of races that a Daily Racing Form page would have recreated. Decent enough, but I wouldn't go out of your way to read it.
October 22, 2016
This book had a lot of interesting information about horse racing at this point in history. However, Exterminator never really came alive as a character nor did the trainer or owner.
January 17, 2024
I've always been a fan of "Old Bones," so this book was a treat for me. He's a great athlete whose legend needs to be rescued from people's ignorance of the past. Eliza McGraw provides an in-depth study of one of the greatest racehorses of the twentieth century. We learn much about Exterminator's early years and racing career. Equally important, she does a fine job of explaining the background of the people connected to him, the cultural context of the gelding's life, and the history of horse racing. I was particularly interested in the Exterminator-Sir Barton-Man o' War nexus.
December 7, 2025
Old Bones, the Champ
Great story. A must read for its history alone. I wonder how many more races Exterminator would have won had he not been held back so often so that his stable mate could win. While no one can argue Man o’ Wars greatness, one still is left to wonder the outcome of that match race with Exterminator that almost came off - especially at a mile and half or 3/4.
Great story. A must read for its history alone. I wonder how many more races Exterminator would have won had he not been held back so often so that his stable mate could win. While no one can argue Man o’ Wars greatness, one still is left to wonder the outcome of that match race with Exterminator that almost came off - especially at a mile and half or 3/4.
January 20, 2022
An excellent compendium of information about Exterminator, his career, his trainer and his owner. Falls a little short in that the author is not a story teller, so the accounts of the races are not as engaging as one might hope for.
April 7, 2026
A good telling of the story of an amazing horse. If you loved "Old Bones the Wonder Horse" as a kid, you should know that book was a fictionalized account of this horse. In other words, don't assume that because you read that, you know Exterminator's story.
October 31, 2018
An excellent account of one of horse racing's underrated iron horses.
November 27, 2018
I just loved this book. It was so well written and gave you the same sort of underdog feeling as Seabiscuit. I would highly recommend.
February 13, 2024
Enjoyed the story of Exterminator, Kilmer, and little bits of the history of Binghamton.
December 3, 2016
Great story, excellently written and researched.
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August 11, 2016
Heard of the great racehorse Man O'War? Seabiscuit? Secretariat? Before all them, a long shot horse--originally bought to be a pacemaker for a prized racehorse--won the 1918 Kentucky Derby. This gelding went on to race until the ancient age of nine, running in 99 races and winning 50. Exterminator had his ups and downs in racing, but throughout the 1920s, he was the everyman's horse.
Exterminator has been my favorite racehorse since I first read Old Bones: The Wonder Horse as a little horse crazy girl, and I was so excited to finally see a book about him, particularly with all the books about horseracing out there.
I think it could have stood a little more editing. McGraw tried to put Exterminator in the time he raced in, but often little factoids or non sequiturs were randomly spliced in with little rhyme or reason, breaking up the flow of the story. Some parts dragged, others were embedded with just too much information. But stick to the end, because she sums it all together pretty well. Then again, I'm particularly sentimental about the horse so there's a little bias.
Exterminator has been my favorite racehorse since I first read Old Bones: The Wonder Horse as a little horse crazy girl, and I was so excited to finally see a book about him, particularly with all the books about horseracing out there.
I think it could have stood a little more editing. McGraw tried to put Exterminator in the time he raced in, but often little factoids or non sequiturs were randomly spliced in with little rhyme or reason, breaking up the flow of the story. Some parts dragged, others were embedded with just too much information. But stick to the end, because she sums it all together pretty well. Then again, I'm particularly sentimental about the horse so there's a little bias.
June 15, 2016
I love horse stories. As a child I read every one I could get my hands on. That included Old Bones: The Wonder Horse. So of course I knew I would like this book.
Exterminator was an amazing horse who had an astonishing 7 year career on the racetrack. Any book about him would be telling a great story.
But Eliza McGraw went beyond just telling Exterminator's story. She put it in context; that's the way you have to read history. There are 45 pages of footnotes and 25 pages of reference materials to show just how much research she did. It paid off.
My only complaint about the book is the pictures. They are scattered throughout the book with most nearer the end. I prefer them collected in one place, generally the middle of the book, so they don't interrupt the flow of the text.
I received a free copy of this book through the Good Reads First Reads program.
Exterminator was an amazing horse who had an astonishing 7 year career on the racetrack. Any book about him would be telling a great story.
But Eliza McGraw went beyond just telling Exterminator's story. She put it in context; that's the way you have to read history. There are 45 pages of footnotes and 25 pages of reference materials to show just how much research she did. It paid off.
My only complaint about the book is the pictures. They are scattered throughout the book with most nearer the end. I prefer them collected in one place, generally the middle of the book, so they don't interrupt the flow of the text.
I received a free copy of this book through the Good Reads First Reads program.
July 15, 2016
Before Seabiscuit, there was Exterminator! This exciting book tells the story of the racehorse that electrified fans and uplifted their spirits during the dark days of World War I. Exterminatorwas an unlikely champion - skinny, tall and ungainly - yet the gelding went on the set records that are still unbroken today. Crowds flocked to racetracks during the Great War and just after to see this incredible athlete beat some of the best horses of his generation. Eliza McGraw has done a wonderful job in recreating this bygone era when horse racing was still one of the country's passions. Thorough and detailed research provides insight into this legendary champion and how he captured the nation's imagination. Wonderful book about an exciting sports star!
May 22, 2016
Here Comes Exterminator--The Long-Shot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero by Eliza McGraw is a non-fiction book is one of those books that tell about somebody or someone I have no knowledge about that I find very interesting. These are some of my favorite books to read.
Exterminator was a fantastic race horse. He won the most money of any race horse ever! He won the Kentucky Derby in 1918 and from then on Americans had a love affair with this great horse. Ms. McGraw tells the story really well and I got to know how it was back then. I enjoyed this book very much! (Gerard's review)
Exterminator was a fantastic race horse. He won the most money of any race horse ever! He won the Kentucky Derby in 1918 and from then on Americans had a love affair with this great horse. Ms. McGraw tells the story really well and I got to know how it was back then. I enjoyed this book very much! (Gerard's review)
September 12, 2016
I own a copy of the 1955 children's book Old Bones the Wonder Horse, by Mildred Mastin Pace (love anything illustrated by Wesley Dennis), so I was familiar with the story of the great racehorse Exterminator. Eliza McGraw's book adds so much more to the story, bringing the world of horse racing to life. She has done her research very thoroughly, and for instance, the book includes how horse training was changing at that time, and how WWI influenced the horse world. The library copy I was reading had to go back before I actually got all the way through it (sadly), but I intend to rerequest it soon and finish it! A great story about a great horse!!! Thank you Eliza McGraw!!!
July 19, 2016
A wonderful book for fans of horses, racing, and the Golden Age of horse racing. Definitely a book to read if you grew up reading "Old Bones the Wonder Horse".
April 22, 2023
As a child I loved the book Old Bones the Wonder Horse, so when I saw this book I had to read/listen to it. It was fun remembering the great racehorse, Exterminator. What a wonderful story.
April 9, 2017
I have loved Exterminator since I read "Old Bones" at age seven or so, and my regard only increased when as an adult I learned a little about racing and could appreciate his remarkable career. While this book is a serviceable account of his career, it fails to convey how truly astonishing it was, and why he was so beloved.
The author evidently did very thorough research - there are around seventy pages of notes and references. Still, there are some glaring omissions. If there is a mention of Exterminator being declared Horse of the Year in 1922, or his three consecutive awards as Champion Handicap Horse, I missed it. Although we read about Exterminator's two-year old races, by the time we get to the Derby there's no mention that when he went to post, he had not run in a race for ten months - one of the main reasons his victory was so jaw dropping. We learn that Exterminator raced with as little as a five day break - in 1919 he won three races in three weeks - but without some knowledge of our 21st century racing schedules a general reader would have no idea how remarkable this sounds today.
The epilogue gives the summary: 99 races/50 wins/17 second and 17 third placings. He won carrying top weight - and he broke records doing it. But the telling in the book makes it all sound pedestrian, somehow. I had no sense, reading it, of why Exterminator's jockey would say:
I found the writing jerky and often disconnected. In the midst of the lead-up to Exterminator's astonishing victory in the 1918 Derby, we get a paragraph about Mother's Day and General Pershing. This kind of interjection occurs throughout the book and makes it hard to keep track of the races, the weights, the wins and losses. It would have been great to have a complete list of Exterminator's races that included the weight he carried, and the records he set.
I was very disappointed in the photos - especially in a book selling for $30.00 new. They are all small and grainy. Most of them are available online in larger format and much better resolution. (If anyone wants to see better photos of the great Exterminator - including two from the Derby that show just how very homely he was - go to https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-... and click on "media." )
The author does do a good job explaining how important horses were in the first world war, and some of the horrors they endured in that service. Her account of Kilmer (the owner, of "Swamp Root" patent medicine fame) is very fair; it makes note of his large contributions to charity and various kindnessness, but what a sleaze he was still comes through.
I almost gave this book only two stars, but decided that really was more a reflection of my own disappointment and not quite fair. It's not a bad book ... I'm not sorry I read it, but I would not particularly recommend it either - definately not to anyone who'd never heard of "Old Bones."
The author evidently did very thorough research - there are around seventy pages of notes and references. Still, there are some glaring omissions. If there is a mention of Exterminator being declared Horse of the Year in 1922, or his three consecutive awards as Champion Handicap Horse, I missed it. Although we read about Exterminator's two-year old races, by the time we get to the Derby there's no mention that when he went to post, he had not run in a race for ten months - one of the main reasons his victory was so jaw dropping. We learn that Exterminator raced with as little as a five day break - in 1919 he won three races in three weeks - but without some knowledge of our 21st century racing schedules a general reader would have no idea how remarkable this sounds today.
The epilogue gives the summary: 99 races/50 wins/17 second and 17 third placings. He won carrying top weight - and he broke records doing it. But the telling in the book makes it all sound pedestrian, somehow. I had no sense, reading it, of why Exterminator's jockey would say:
"When he was at his best Exterminator could have beaten Man o' War or Citation or Kelso or any other horse that ever lived on any track doing anything."
I found the writing jerky and often disconnected. In the midst of the lead-up to Exterminator's astonishing victory in the 1918 Derby, we get a paragraph about Mother's Day and General Pershing. This kind of interjection occurs throughout the book and makes it hard to keep track of the races, the weights, the wins and losses. It would have been great to have a complete list of Exterminator's races that included the weight he carried, and the records he set.
I was very disappointed in the photos - especially in a book selling for $30.00 new. They are all small and grainy. Most of them are available online in larger format and much better resolution. (If anyone wants to see better photos of the great Exterminator - including two from the Derby that show just how very homely he was - go to https://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-... and click on "media." )
The author does do a good job explaining how important horses were in the first world war, and some of the horrors they endured in that service. Her account of Kilmer (the owner, of "Swamp Root" patent medicine fame) is very fair; it makes note of his large contributions to charity and various kindnessness, but what a sleaze he was still comes through.
I almost gave this book only two stars, but decided that really was more a reflection of my own disappointment and not quite fair. It's not a bad book ... I'm not sorry I read it, but I would not particularly recommend it either - definately not to anyone who'd never heard of "Old Bones."
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