Excerpted from "The Greatest Race of the Century"


Since Thoroughbreds were first brought to the American colonies more than 300 years ago, match racing -- featuring one man's horse against another man's horse -- has been an important part of the sport of racing. In the 1800s, match races took place with regularity. A series of important international match races were held in 1923. During the 1930s and 1940s, there was another spike in interest in match racing, with a dozen or so contests being held involving national champions. Arguably, the most famous match races of the current century could probably be as seen in the picture to the left.