The Great Match Race Author:John Eisenberg In the early 1800s, the notion of sport was still quite new to America that is, until a horse race changed everything. In 1823 an astonishing sixty thousand people gathered on Long Island to watch two thoroughbreds battle it out in three grueling heats, the equivalent of nine Kentucky Derbys, in the space of only a couple of hours. And the who... more »le thing was based on an outrageous dare. In a fast-paced narrativecolorful, rich, and full of record-setting performances and towering personalitiesJohn Eisenberg chronicles the tremendous story of the year in which two horses would come to embody a nation galloping inevitably toward civil war. Eclipse was the majestic champion representing the North's evolving industrial machine, and Henry was an equine arriviste embodying Southern perceptions of superiority. Their thrilling match race would come to represent a watershed moment in American history, crystallizing the differences that so fundamentally divided North and South. A unique blend of horse racing, history, and good old-fashioned storytelling, The Great Match Race provides a telling glimpse of a nation dividing, a fascinating look at the early heritage of the American thoroughbred, and the first example of the sports spectacle as we know it.« less