The author Kevin Chong discusses his new book, Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse that Inspired a Nation (Viking, 2014), with Joseph Planta.

Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse that Inspired a Nation by Kevin Chong (Viking, 2014). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Northern Dancer

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

Fifty years ago, Northern Dancer was famous the world over, having won two of the Triple Crown races in the United States, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. In Canada, he won the Queen’s Plate, and was a beloved figure for all. A new book looks at Northern Dancer’s 1964 campaign, and goes back to tell the story of E.P. Taylor, the Canadian industrialist who changed the sport of kings in Canada, how he brought Northern Dancer together with the Argentinean Horatio Luro, a dapper trainer. He’s a fascinating figure, as is Bill Hartack, the jockey who rode Northern Dancer. The book’s author Kevin Chong joins me now to talk about it, and the hero status that for Canadians embodied more than a winner, it was the changing of the country. I’ll ask Mr. Chong about that, what it might have established for Canadians, as well as what perhaps made Northern Dancer as remarkable a thoroughbred as he was, and how his legacy lives on today. Kevin Chong is the author of four other books, his more recent ones were the memoir, My Year of the Racehorse, and the novel Beauty Plus Pity. He is an instructor in the creative writing department at the University of British Columbia, and contributes to a range of publications. The full title of the book is: Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse that Inspired a Nation. It’s published by Viking. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Kevin Chong; Mr. Chong, good morning.

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