Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America’s Legendary Racehorse

In this colorful debut biography, equestrian Wickens relates the life and legacy of the eponymous equine, who was foaled near his namesake city in Kentucky in 1850. Though Lexington’s light frame, paired with a broad chest, wide jawbone and nostrils, and muscular legs, gave him the build of a runner, he spent his early years untrained due to the ill health of his owner, Dr. Elisha Warfield. Eventually, Warfield sold the “resolute” horse to Harry Lewis, a freed Black horse trainer whose skill Wickens credits with putting Kentucky at the top of “the national competition to produce winning horses.” Wickens notes that not only was Lexington the first horse in more than 100 years to break the world speed record, in 1855 (running four miles in just under seven minutes and 20 seconds), but his record as a sire of winning horses remains unrivaled. The book settles into a steady canter as readers are introduced to Civil War Kentucky and its marauding, horse-thieving guerrillas, while the conclusion’s cool-down trot focuses on the afterlife of Lexington’s bones, which were hidden in an attic of the Smithsonian in the 1950s, resurrected for a Timex ad in 1999, and eventually returned to Lexington, Ky., for display in the 2000s. Lovers of both history and horses will take enjoyment from this thoroughly told tale. (July)