Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America

Written by Charles Leerhsen

Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

". . . a wry, moving account of America's first epidemic of sports fever." —Entertainment Weekly

Who was the most famous athlete one hundred years ago? A horse. In fact, harness racer Dan Patch was more than a celebrity, he was once the most recognizable figure in American sports.

Born with a bad leg and nearly euthanized in 1896, Dan Patch led an ordinary wagon horse existence, pulling the grocer’s cart in Oxford, Indiana. It was when he won a race at the Indiana State Fair that Dan Patch’s fame began to build.

At the time, harness racing was America’s favorite sport and as Dan Patch began beating world records and achieving unheard-of times, he caught the attention of not only fans, but corporations. In fact, this magnificent animal became the first celebrity sports endorser of everything from razors and cigars to breakfast cereal and washing machines.

Listen to this fascinating true story of the first massive sports star in America, and hear how a horse became a household name, delighting and uplifting an entire country.

“A terrific look at a legendary if now forgotten equine superstar named Dan Patch. Leerhsen does for early 20th-century American harness racing what Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit did for Depression-era Thoroughbred racing. . . . Thanks to Leerhsen, Dan Patch returns for another good run.” —Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781713501770

Charles Leerhsen

Charles Leerhsen is a former executive editor at Sports Illustrated. He has written for Rolling Stone, Esquire, and The New York Times. His books include Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty; Crazy Good: The Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America; Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and the Birth of the Indy 500; and Butch Cassidy: The True Story of an American Outlaw. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Sarah Saffian. Visit him at Leerhsen.com.

Reviews for Crazy Good

[housecarl_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a good read. I spent 43 years in Lexington, Kentucky and all my sons became racing fans by going to the Red Mile, a stop on the Grand Circuit. They have all long since switched to the thoroughbreds. The biographer gives good insights on how he researched the book, managing at the same time to shed light on the people involved in the story both now and in the past. I am about 2/3's through it and really enjoy it.

[jztemple · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In contrast to Laura Hilldebrand's wildly popular Seabuscuit, Leerhsen's tale of Dan Patch is hardly on anyone's must read list. It's a shame because while the two author's styles differ, the subject of the latter is just as interesting as the former. Fewer folks are familiar with trotters and pacers, but a hundred years ago they were as or more popular than thoroughbreds eventually became decades latter. Leerhsen relates not only the story of Dan Patch but also the rise of the trotters and pacers, the racing world and how Dan Patch for a time became the most well know horse in the world. An excellent social history as well, the book's only failing is when the author injects his own first person stories recounting his efforts to research the story. They just aren't all that interesting and break the flow of the narrative. However, they constitute only a small part of the whole book and some people might actually like them.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Born in 1896 in the small town of Oxford, Indiana, the horse that was to become a cultural icon was almost put down immediately due to a crippled rear leg. The offspring of an obscurely bred, lame mare and nasty-tempered stallion with a decent harness racing record, Dan Patch went on to become the first horse to pace a mile in 1:56 seconds. He eventually lowered that record, albeit under slightly dubious circumstances, to 1:55.Dan Patch paced naturally, no hobbles required. (If you've ever seen a trotter race, and it's rare to find a track still in operation anymore, you'll likely have seen horses race in hobbles & assorted other paraphenalia intended to keep them from breaking gait.) He was something of fluke in other ways, too - traveling exceedingly well, handling crouds with equanimity, and taking almost every publicity event in stride.The story Leerhsen writes is at once less and more than the simple biography of a great horse. It's a chatty, sometimes catty, account of a horse's life, of the lives and personalities of the men who surrounded him, and also a window into another time.