Ron turcotte biography book

Rate this book. Curtis Stock. Fifty years ago, Secretariat, a horse so brilliantly fast and powerful that many of his records still stand, completed his historic Triple Crown victory. Secretariat's rider was Ron Turcotte, a master of his craft who grew up as one of 14 children in the small lumberjack town of Drummond, New Brunswick. Four other Turcottes - Noel, Rudy, Roger and Yves - followed their older brother onto North American racetracks and into the winner's circle.

The The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty is the story of this family's journey from their little corner of the woods to the top of the thoroughbred racing world. The name Turcotte meant one thing in thoroughbred winning. But the jockey's life takes a toll. Each brother was in a neverending battle to maintain his riding weight.

Noel, Rudy and Roger fought the bottle. And then came the losses, the injuries and the heartbreaks. The unlikely triumph of one of horse racing's greatest families was not without tragedy. Drawing upon over 30 years of reporting and interviews, journalist Curtis Stock takes readers on an unforgettable ride through the major players and race days of thoroughbred racing.

Part biography, part oral history and part creative nonfiction, The The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty is a true underdog story and sure bet for any sports fan. Genres Sports Horse Racing. Loading interface About the author. Curtis Stock 1 book. Write a Review. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Ron turcotte biography book

Community Reviews. Search review text. Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews. Secretariat is still considered to be one of the greatest race horses in history, even now, 50 years after his Triple Crown. His jockey was Ron Turcotte, who became as much of a celebrity as his horse during those special weeks. However, Ron was certainly not the only successful jockey in his family and this excellent book by Curtis Stock rons turcotte biography book homage to all the Turcotte riders.

The large family had many struggles and often lived in poverty — this was starkly illustrated at the start of this book with a description of a fire that destroyed the residence of the Turcottes. Alfred made a living as a logger and it seemed to be the destiny of his sons as well. But when Ron was 17 and after caring for the horses who hauled the loads, Ron and his brother Reggie left home to find different paths.

It might surprise some readers, including myself, to read about just how successful all five Turcottes became on the track. Each brother had rides for at least 15 years in Canada and the United States. This is the case whether talking about a minor race in Alberta to the three Triple Crown races Ron ran on Secretariat. If there is a brother who gets the most ink in the book it would of course be Ron, but all of the other brothers get their fair share of pages as well.

This included personal matters as well as those on the track or in the stables. During this 50th anniversary of one of the greatest accomplishments in any sport, this is a book that should be read by anyone who has an interest in horse racing, Secretariat or sports history. And often broke. Through careful research and interviews, Stock has documented the little-known lives of five brothers from small-town Canada who rose to the upper echelons of the Thoroughbred racing world, and the heartbreak that accompanied their success.

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Drawing upon over 30 years of reporting and interviews, journalist Curtis Stock takes readers on an unforgettable ride through the major players and race days of thoroughbred racing. Part biography, part oral history and part creative nonfiction, The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty is a true underdog story and sure bet for any sports fan.

A sports writer for over 30 years with the Edmonton Journal and Calgary HeraldStock has loved horse racing since he was in junior high school, where he would tape the Daily Racing Form into his binders. The marketing and publicity director for Northlands Park Race Track for eight years and a horse owner of several thoroughbreds, Stock is a proud father of two wonderful children, Dallas and Maia, with his wife of 30 years, Barb.

It will leave you breathless With his insider's view of the Turcotte family's lives, career highs and lows, no other author could have penned this story. In the final chapter, Stock outlines how horse racing is "an addictive but unforgiving sport, especially for the jockeys, whose careers are generally short. Once it's in your blood, it stays there".

The page read has the makings of a triumph-to-tragedy Hollywood movie. It chronicles the improbable story of five brothers from a rural New Brunswick village creating a dynasty in the saddle, forever linking the family name with success at the sport's highest levels. Stock brings his uncanny, but not surprising, wit and compassion to produce word wizardry in this page-turner, can't-put-it-down book.