BH's Shulman to Discuss Justify Book at Keeneland

The Keeneland Library, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, will feature discussions of new books about Triple Crown winners Sir Barton and Justify  at upcoming installments of its popular Library Lecture Series.

On Tuesday, May 14, Jennifer Kelly will discuss her book, Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown. Kelly, who is from Madison, Alabama, conducted extensive research of resources from the Keeneland Library to tell the story of Sir Barton, who 100 years ago won the three races that became known as the Triple Crown.

On Tuesday, June 18, Lenny Shulman will discuss his book, Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory, about the undefeated colt who became the 13th Triple Crown winner in 2018.

Shulman, an Emmy Award-winning writer who worked in TV and film in Hollywood for two decades and now is Features Editor of BloodHorse in Lexington, tells the story of everyone who was involved in Justify's daily life while describing the colt's experiences, including his time at Keeneland's September Yearling Sale. 

Each Library Lecture Series program, which is free and open to the public, is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET. Following the author's presentation is a book signing. A limited number of copies of the highlighted books will be available for purchase. 

Meanwhile, the Library invites visitors to enjoy two exhibits.

Through May 31, the Library is spotlighting Herbert Haseltine, the acclaimed sculptor of the early 20th century, in "Herbert Haseltine: The Gold Standard." The exhibit includes two prominent works from Haseltine's latter period: "The Thoroughbred Horse" and "Portrait of the Racehorse Tom Fool."

A gift in kind to the Keeneland Library by John H. "Trader" Clark before his death, "The Thoroughbred Horse," dated 1949, is Haseltine's fifth and final version of the idealized Thoroughbred he perfected over nearly 40 years.

"Portrait of the Racehorse Tom Fool," also representative of Haseltine's evolved stylized treatment of the breed, is on loan from the private collection of brothers Duane and Kirk Hoefling.

Guests also will enjoy the Library's next chapter of its exhibit of historic photos titled "From the Vault: Jockeys." The exhibit, curated by Head Librarian Roda Ferraro, features 29 images dating from the late 1800s to the mid-20th century from the Library's archive of more than 1 million negatives and photographic prints. Varied memorabilia from Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Arcaro, Ted Atkinson and Bill Shoemaker accompany the photographs.

A virtual gallery of jockey photographs in "Photo Treasures from the Keeneland Library" is available at https://keenelandlibrary.omeka.net/exhibits. Click on the link titled "People Gallery."