Losses and literature

Like Patrick at Pulling Hair and Betting Horses, I feel like I knew Bob Lewis. Unlike Patrick, I never called him on the phone. But I've met him in print, so to speak, in the pages of Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing, in which author Elizabeth Mitchell chronicles the career of Charismatic, the Lewis' 1999 Kentucky Derby & Preakness winner.

The book focuses a great deal on jockey Chris Antley and, in new journalism style, the author's experiences at the Derby and at the hospital with a race-loving friend. Overall, it's a sad book, and according to some, fraught with errors an editor should have caught.

Yet, the depiction of Bob and Beverly Lewis is a sunny patch in Mitchell's dark world. The two sound like really nice people who answer their own phone, enjoy their wins, delight in their horses, and accept defeat with grace. Mitchell's portrayal of Bob Lewis as a sharp businessman with a passionate, optimistic heart is in keeping with the numerous tributes now posted on the Blood-Horse website.

It's times like these that I'm glad there are still writers interested in telling the tales of the track. Like amber, they preserve the past, allowing latecomers (like me) to share some of the glory of races gone by -- and to get to know some of racing's remarkable individuals, even after they're gone.

Three Strides Before the Wire, is to my mind, something of a gift, for in its pages, Charismatic is forever crossing the finish line at 20-1 in the Derby - and the Lewises are smiling.