Derby Fever

A colorful collection of anecdotes from the thrilling history of the beloved Louisville horse race, the Kentucky Derby.

Jim Bolus is an authority on the Kentucky Derby. Over the years he has conducted hundreds of interviews and written books about it. Here in his third book on the Kentucky Derby, he brings together another collection of his favorite Derby Stories that are sure to make an avid race fan out of anyone.

As the Kentucky Derby grows near, people suddenly turn their attention to Churchill Downs. The names of past champions such as Secretariat, Exterminator, Spend a Buck, and Nashua fill the air, folks from all over America book their rooms in Louisville, and the locals bake their delicious Derby pies. Everyone bursts into a fever over the Run for the Roses.

Bolus covers a wide range of topics—from "the Duke" at the Derby; to the famous Derby photograph of the Fighting Finish in 1933; to his favorite Derby, the 1969 running Bolus also relates his own personal experiences as a bettor (and a loser!) on the Derby. In particular, he devotes a chapter to Holy Land, a horse who ran in the 1970 race but lost his jockey and the race. It's a pick Bolus has been kidded about a lot over the years.

With this book, readers will understand his passion for the grand old race and its traditions as they learn why so many get Derby fever every spring.

Also by Jim Bolus are Remembering the Derby and Kentucky Derby Stories.