The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse

I have wanted to read this book for years! It was so informative and very well written. Secretariat has been my 🩷 horse since I was a kid. It was a thrill to read about his origins, training, and the many people who loved him. The author described his races in a way that made time slow down and I felt like I was riding my dream horse! A terrific book for anyone who loves horses in general, and this beautiful champion in particular!!!

This is an amazing story of Secretariat! 0 Packed full of information that’s not known to most people. This would be a great book for anyone e who loves horses.

This is an okay book. If I hadn’t known the references to the horse park or races or the horses I’m familiar with, the research style writing would have left me bored! I was hoping to find some answers to the questions the author himself raises about Eddie Sweat, but alas, no luck. It only talks about his greatness without really showing us how he’s great, albeit I’ve no doubt he must have been. I think the caption is unfitting in a way, and may have been kept on for marketing purposes cuz the story did mostly circle back to the horse and the groom while talking about the whole Horseracing scenario, but the whole book is not just about The horse God built. It’s a well researched and thorough work it seems and it felt like the author was compelled to tell the story about the backstretch and the confused exhilaration of the Horseracing community in keeping up with the sport, where eventually nothing else mattered but the love of the horse... yet it felt incomplete. I’d recommend this book for the knowledge it imparts, but I won’t look for a story in this book... a good one or a bad one, cuz there’s none. It’s like a collection of newspaper articles, not even strung together. I shouldn’t sound so critical cuz I researched so many of the horses, and watched videos of races only after this book... and learnt so much.. but it could have said a better story, strung together in order instead of being scattered so it’d have been popular enough to reach everyone, which I honestly wish it had done!

A wonderful book! Highly recommend!!

This is an amazing read. Get ready to go where you had not expected to travel. The author is brave enough to let the story take him where it goes and we follow along gladly. Originally a story about a great horse and that might have been enough but it goes on to tell us about the society the horse keeps and how it influences his life. Not talking here about the high society but the low society the person who cleans out his stall and rubs him down. His groom Eddie Sweat is the number one person in Secretariat’s life and the hero of this story and how it made Secretariat a better horse and I for one feel it has made me a better person for having learned all about him. I loved this book and found it’s willingness to follow the heart line, where the deepest emotions lie to be extremely rewarding and I think other readers will as well.

If you love horses and understand the bond that occurs between you and your horse...or if you desire to have that bond, you will love this book. I almost gave it four stars because, in my estimation, only one thing was missing; there are very few pictures in this book. Why do we not see more of what the book is telling us.; the winding miles of fence at Meadow Farm or Claiborne, Secretariat at play, at work, the faces of the people the author speaks about, etc? (If, by chance, they are located in the back of the book (I am reading the Kindle version and this review comes before the acknowledgements, etc. If there are pictures in the back, then please forgive me) I'm just sad about not being able to enjoy some of those photos of which the author speaks. This has whetted my appetite to read more about Secretariat (which I thought I knew already but so many more to learn) This books pulled a lot of emotion from me and I appreciated the author's desire to not only tell a story of Secretariat but of the unknown, seldom celebrated story of a man almost lost to the pages of time, Eddie Sweat...Secretariat's groom during the glory years. What a beautiful picture which has been painted by Mr. Scanlan of that man who loved "his" horse. Mr. Scanlan is a horse owner also and he states his desire to become a better horseman because of what he learned about the devotion of Mr. "Shorty" Sweat to "the Horse God Built." I was 18 the year Secretariat won the Triple Crown; I would be graduating HS in a few weeks. Too busy with my own horse in the way of any horse-crazy girl who lives and breathes the equine, I did not follow Thoroughbred racing though I could tell you, loving all things HORSE, the Triple Crown winners and the year they won. I owned a quarter horse named Barzal Bravo ("Bozo" for short) with thoroughbred racing blood making up half his pedigree. Helping my horse-centered world along, my family lived in the same equestrian subdivision as several of the Los Alamitos Race Course trainers and their "lay off" horses. I was often at those early morning workouts at the track with my horsey girlfriends; ethereal moments about which the author writes. My bedroom walls were covered with the daily race results from Los AL. Because I did not have access to much money on my own and most of what I did earn went to support my own horse's upkeep, I did not buy magazines or books to read and thus knew very littleabout this new "Big Red"...plus, I was a Man O' War purist in my heart. However, everyone had heard of Secretariat and I became a believer after watching him win the Derby and Preakness. As the day of the Belmont arrived, my parents had taken us camping. I only agreed to go if my dad made sure we had a working TV to watch the race. As Secretariat rounded the last turn pulling away, my emotions spilled out. As an equine artist, I appreciate the beauty of the horse and this was a thing of beauty...and history. I knew I was watching it being made right in front of me! I screamed! I jumped up in the air. Then as Big Red swept toward the finish line with the cameras struggling to even show the other horses in the race, I laid on the floor and wept like a baby. To this day I cannot watch that race without those emotions welling up inside me and weeping outloud...for the beauty, that wonderful horse, the history, his death and my youth long gone but remembered for a shining moment. Much like other transcendent moments in history when one can remember where theybwere or what they were doing, I

The book is called “The Horse God Built” but it focuses more on Secretariat’s groom than on the horse itself. This is great to a point, but the author basically worships Eddie Sweat and finds absolutely no flaws in him, even calling him a “saint” (despite his relationship/family history- children with three different women, etc.). It’s too one sided and also it’s not well organized so you kind of get dragged all over. Solid book but a bit disappointing.

Great story

Nothing about great horses is great!

The question that arises from the title of this book is, how can such a high-profile racehorse have an untold story? In this case the untold story belongs to Secretariat's groom, the late Eddie Sweat. Author Scanlan tracked down many people involved in the superhorse's career from owners to those who worked in the "backstretch". He examines the role that Sweat played in the horse's success. He also touches on the less savoury side of the racing world, and the lack of recognition and rewards for those who spend almost their whole lives, 24-7, with their charges. Running through the book is the theme of what a freakishly superb athlete the horse was, and in what ways he was superior to your normal well-credentialled Thoroughbred racehorse. Thankfully, Scanlan mostly dodges the question of who was better out of Secretariat and Man o'War. (No mention of the other Big Red, Phar Lap, of course - American racing writers largely seem to dismiss racing in other parts of the world). Although I felt the last few chapters focussed a little too much on circumstances of the author's interviews and tracking down more people, rather as though he were running out of material, I enjoyed this book as a well-written, interesting account of an amazing horse and his wonderful groom.

This is an elegantly written book, about one of the most perfect race horses ever to exist. But what makes it so lovely is it's not about the fame and glory, but about the love between the horse and the man that knows him best, his groom. Always working away in the back ground, grooms get very little recognition or money, however Eddie Sweat received the ultimate honour, the love of a magnificent animal. Describing how much people loved Secretariat, was truly humbling, but the dedication of Eddie to his 'baby' was even more special ❤️

Das Buch ist für alle, die einfach nicht genug von Secretariat bekommen können. Es verrät so viele erwähnenswerte Details aus dem Leben des Pferdes, die nur diejenigen wissen konnten, die ihm so nahe standen, wie, z.B. Eddie Sweat. Es ist aktuell, poetisch und dennoch modern sowie in hoher Qualität geschrieben. Ein anspruchsvolles Buch, das angenehm unkompliziert zu lesen ist und das super recherchiert wurde. Scanlan arbeitet vor allem mit Zitaten von denen, die Secretariat und Eddie Sweat kannten und lässt viele zu Wort kommen, die zuvor nicht gefragt worden waren. Er berücksichtigt nicht nur die, die am Erfolg des Pferdes direkt beteiligt waren, sondern auch die, die große Fans sind und sein Andenken bis heute pflegen. Es ist ein ehrliches Buch, obwohl der Autor ein großer Fan von Secretariat zu sein scheint. Angenehmerweise ist es keines von den übertrieben heroischen Büchern, in denen jeder, der gefragt wird, sagt, dass er schon immer gewusst hat (bevor es alle anderen wussten), wie gut dieses Pferd einmal sein würde. Die Hommage an den Hengst und seinen Pfleger geht viel weiter als das. Auch, wenn man sich gelegentlich fühlt, als hätte der Autor ein bisschen den Faden verloren, erweitern diese Passagen das Werk angenehm und ziehen es nicht unnötig in die Länge. Das Buch ist eine Reise durch die Orte und Herzen derer, die Secretariat und Eddie niemals vergessen werden. Außerdem erinnert es uns (manchmal extrem dramatisch) daran, dass es neben solchen Ausnahmegaloppern und ihrem Ruhm auch immer die andere Seite der Medaille gibt.

This book was more interesting about the real Secretariat and his groom Eddie Sweat than I ever imagined. The author went to a lot of trouble to get his research right, by getting to talk to just about everyone who had ever had any dealings with the racehorse and his groom. They were an incredible team and one that made others stop and think about the way you care for horses and what they think about you. A lot can be learned from the way they went about their daily lives. Horses learn to trust the person they know best and Secretariat had the best groom he could ever have had. Other grooms from that era felt that Eddie had the right way of dealing with the racehorse he was charged with looking after and that even meant putting the horse first in every respect. Other racehorses are mentioned in this book, but they don't detract from the over all story and account of the life of one of the world's greatest racehorses who was definitely built by god. The author definitely did this book proud. Therefore I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who loves and respect horses as they are incredibly intelligent creatures.