Hailed by The New Yorker for its “remarkable achievements,” The
Sport of Kings is an American tale centered on a horse and two
families: one white, a Southern dynasty whose forefathers were among
the founders of Kentucky; the other African-American, the descendants
of their slaves.
It is a dauntless
narrative that stretches from the fields of the Virginia piedmont to
the abundant pastures of the Bluegrass, and across the dark waters of
the Ohio River; from the final shots of the Revolutionary War to the
resounding clang of the starting bell at Churchill Downs. As C. E.
Morgan unspools a fabric of shared histories, past and present
converge in a Thoroughbred named Hellsmouth, heir to Secretariat and
a contender for the Triple Crown. Newly confronted with one another
in the quest for victory, the two families must face the consequences
of their ambitions, as each is driven---and haunted---by the same,
enduring question: How far away from your father can you run?
A sweeping narrative
of wealth and poverty, racism and rage, The Sport of Kings is
an unflinching portrait of lives cast in the shadow of slavery and a
moral epic for our time.
