One can't help but compare Dorothy Ours' MAN O' WAR to Laura Hillenbrand's SEABISCUIT. There isn't much of a comparison; Ours labors mightily to find a focus, but eventually settles for pretty much a play-by-play account of Big Red's races, and even there, there isn't much excitement because Man o' War often ran against only one other opponent or against the clock.

Ours does find a possible gambit in the fact that horse racing during the early twenties was overrun by gamblers and questionable tactics. Man o' War's first jockey, Johnny Loftus, was denied a jockey's license after his first year riding Big Red. Sir Barton's trainer, H.G. "Hard Guy" Bedwell was accused of running Sir Barton on "hop" (cocaine). Samuel Riddle, Man o' War's owner, is also portrayed as a too cautious owner. Man o' War only raised against one older horse, and that was in a match race against Sir Barton.

Also Ours doesn't bother much with Man o' War's years at stud. He lived to be thirty and he sired triple crown winner War Admiral, but Dorothy mentions only two (one being War Admiral) of Big Red's progeny.

Sports lovers, especially racing touts, will find some solace in Ours' explanation of the reasons for Big Red's one loss. It was a two-year-old race for one thing, and the starter was a substitute. In those days there was no starting gate. The horses were lined up behind what looked like a volleyball net. When the starter raised the net, the race would begin. Man o' War was taught to try to anticipate the start, (The "flying start), but Man o' War was caught backing up when the starter raised the net and lost a crucial seven lengths to Upset, the eventual winner. Johnny Loftus got the blame as he was supposedly out partying the night before.

Ours did whet my appetite for more about the history of thoroughbred racing. In an afterward, she recommends such books as CHAMPIONS: THE LIVES, TIMES, AND PAST PERFORMANCES OF AMERICA'S GREATEST THOROUGHBREDS and THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONS: TOP 100 RACEHORSES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.