Joe H. Palmer belonged to that rarest class of sportswriters: those whose writing can interest readers with no initial interest in the particular sport. During his six years as a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune his writing always appealed to a large following of non--sports fans. His sport, and indeed the chief interest of his whole life, was thoroughbred horse racing and all that it entailed, and Joe Palmer always remained consumed by the drama of the competition and by the colorful characters who owned, rode, and wagered on the magnificent animals.

Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, the heart of the American horse breeding and racing industry in the mid twentieth century, Palmer was quickly and completely surrounded by horse racing, and this background gave him a privileged perspective on the sport. His lifelong affiliation with racing enhanced his access to it, and his reputation and...