Triple Crown Winner: The Earl Sande Saga

Richard J. Maturi
21st Century Publishers (2004)
ISBN 0960729852
Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (/06)

I laid aside “Triple Crown Winner: The Earl Sande Saga” long enough to watch undefeated Barbaro move into the saddling area at Churchill Downs. I studied the horses and listened to the commentators as the trainers gave their jockeys a leg up. With jockeys Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, and Pat Day retired, I said to my husband, “I’d sure like to see Edgar Prado win the Derby this year.”

The last time I watched a horse and jockey claim all three jewels in the Triple Crown, I was in high school. Spoiled by three amazing horses during the seventies—Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed—I thought winning the Triple Crown was pretty common. With no winners since then, I know better now.

This decade, racing fans have savored a resurging interest in the sport of kings, thanks to the book and movie Seabiscuit and four horses that came close to claiming the elusive Triple Crown. My husband and I settled into our recliners and watched Barbaro—rode by Prado—“Run for the Roses” and win with a commanding lead despite a stumble at the start. I wonder if this colt might be the one.

After the race I returned to Earl Sande’s story. Like the little-remembered Seabiscuit, Sande slipped into time without the attention and recognition he deserved. America now knows about Seabiscuit. It’s time Americans revisit the accomplishments of one of the greatest Hall of Fame jockeys. Sande’s career spanned decades including the Twenties, a golden era for horse racing. He left home and went into racing as a thin Midwestern kid almost too tall to be a jockey.

Good friends and horsemen along the way helped him develop his natural talent. Soon Sande rode in the big races with great horses. He logged some of the top stats in the sport, including a lifetime percentage of in-the-money wins of 60.9 percent.

Like everyone, Sande faced his share of setbacks. Unfair treatment, financial problems, a traumatic racing accident and the resulting health problems all conspired to keep Sande down. Yet, this comeback kid kept on. He overcame serious injuries to win the Kentucky Derby. Later, he came out of retirement and rode Gallant Fox to the 1930 Triple Crown. Once America’s top money-winning jockey, he also became the top money-winning trainer.

Maturi tells Sande’s story in a conversational style weaving an interesting biography. He includes Sande’s comments, friends’ perceptions, and reporters’ coverage throughout the book giving readers insight into the athlete, the friend, the husband, the lover of horses. The book covers Sande’s up-and-coming years, his successful career, and the end of his life. The black and white photos, illustrations and racing memorabilia depicted provide telling glimpses into Sande’s life and transport the reader back in time.

If you can’t get enough of racing this season, pick up a thrilling piece of the past and read about one of America’s greatest jockeys of all time.

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