Sure, this is a Walter Farley formula novel, but Walter Farley formula has always worked for me. This one has always been memorable because it has the handicapper:"The Old One in the office," as Michael Costello had referred to the track handicapper, was truly old. His hair, what there was of it, was snow-white and his hands shook involuntarily when he carefully figured out his weight assignments. But he wore no glasses and believed his eyes to be as keen as ever. They'd helped make his weighted ratings of horses one of the best guides of true champions or those on their way to the top. Usually when he packed a high impost upon a horse his judgement proved to be sound. Usually but not always.The Old One hadn't liked the way Casey had one the Carter Handicap the preceding Monday. At 135 pounds the chestnut horse had cut down the others in the stretch as if they'd been just play for him. It must never happen again. Not that he sympathized with the underdog. No, it was simply that there never should be a badly beaten underdog. He had failed utterly to give every horse a chance at first money.Was he perhaps getting too old, as a few of the newspapers had intimated? Were his eyes as keen as he believed them to be?There's more, too: there's the conversations between the jockeys, and their tactics, and real desperation on Alec and Henry's parts. But the handicapper will always be my favorite. His chapter (which continues from the excerpt above) is one of the most compelling Farley ever wrote.
If you want to know what life is like at the racetrack, pick up one of Walter Farley's books! It is incredibly hard to find an author who captures the essence of the horse, the race, or the track the way Farley does. To top all of that off, he is an amazing adventure writer for anyone in the mood for a quick chapter book read. Some parts of the story are a little contrived, but that was the adventure style of the time. I will always say that young readers who love horses should be given this book (indeed, the entire series) as a gift. They are guaranteed to enjoy it over and over again.
Do You like book The Black Stallion's Courage (1978)?
Not the strongest entry in the series. Everyone is angry in this book. There's more shouting than usual. Henry shouts his way from the first page to the last. There are some races, which are wonderful. Is it a spoiler if I say that The Black wins most of 'em? I wish I could travel in time to one of the races Farley was basing these on- I want to see the scrum of reporters elbowing each other to get to the jockey, I want to see the trainers shutting the top stall door in their faces. And I want everyone to be wearing a fedora.
—Melody
