The Untold Story of Joe Hernandez: The Voice of Santa Anita
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Dr. Rudolph Alvarado's compelling and in-depth biography captures the story of Joe Hernandez, a Mexican-American, who despite his ethnic background became thoroughbred horse racing's greatest race caller at a time when most Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were being repatriated to Mexico due to America's Great Depression. This book is currently being adapted into film.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award Winner—Finalist: International Latino Book Awards; USA Best Books Awards; National Indie Excellence Awards; New York Book Festival; Eric Hoffer Book Award; Next Generation Indie Book Awards Purchase
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Praise For:
The Untold Story of Joe Hernandez pulled me in like a vacuum. It's not just a fine piece of racing literature, but an exhaustively researched historical document that details the origins of West Coast racing, the art of race calling, and one man's struggle to break through racial barriers at a time when the odds were stacked mightily against minorities. The meticulously detailed source notes are a valuable inclusion, and the bonus CD that highlights Joe's race calls is an extra-nice touch;especially the haunting inclusion of Joe's Last Call, in which a tape recorder was inadvertently left running to detail Hernandez's eerie collapse at the microphone during the final race of his career.
T.D. Thornton Author of the award winning book Not By a Long Shot: A Season at a Hard-Luck Horse Track --Thoroughbred Times
One cannot question the passion with which the author approached his subject. The amount of research involved, particularly in regard to the family history of Joe Hernandez, is very impressive. Hernandez was indeed an enigma, in many respects a maze of contradictions. And the enigmatic components of his private life constitute the truly compelling aspect of the Hernandez story and of the book itself, outdistancing the unquestionable talent of Hernandez as a race caller.... This book is a very good read.
Bill Mooney A two-time Eclipse Award winner and author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing --Thoroughbred Times
Painstakingly researched over a number of years, this book attempts to bring to flesh and blood a man known mainly through his voice, a man who kept much of his life shrouded in half-truths. Hernandez created his own 'narrative'--his personal history as he would have wanted it to be--which he adjusted to fit his needs. The author discovers not only the truth of that life but explores its unique traits, those traits that drove Hernandez to professional successes even as his personal life suffered.
Audrey Korotkin Two-time Eclipse Award winning broadcaster and first executive director of Triple Crown Productions --Thoroughbred Times
The Untold Story of Joe Hernandez pulled me in like a vacuum. It's not just a fine piece of racing literature, but an exhaustively researched historical document that details the origins of West Coast racing, the art of race calling, and one man's struggle to break through racial barriers at a time when the odds were stacked mightily against minorities. The meticulously detailed source notes are a valuable inclusion, and the bonus CD that highlights Joe's race calls is an extra-nice touch;especially the haunting inclusion of Joe's Last Call, in which a tape recorder was inadvertently left running to detail Hernandez's eerie collapse at the microphone during the final race of his career.
T.D. Thornton Author of the award winning book Not By a Long Shot: A Season at a Hard-Luck Horse Track --Thoroughbred Times
One cannot question the passion with which the author approached his subject. The amount of research involved, particularly in regard to the family history of Joe Hernandez, is very impressive. Hernandez was indeed an enigma, in many respects a maze of contradictions. And the enigmatic components of his private life constitute the truly compelling aspect of the Hernandez story and of the book itself, outdistancing the unquestionable talent of Hernandez as a race caller.... This book is a very good read.
Bill Mooney A two-time Eclipse Award winner and author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing --Thoroughbred Times
Painstakingly researched over a number of years, this book attempts to bring to flesh and blood a man known mainly through his voice, a man who kept much of his life shrouded in half-truths. Hernandez created his own 'narrative'--his personal history as he would have wanted it to be--which he adjusted to fit his needs. The author discovers not only the truth of that life but explores its unique traits, those traits that drove Hernandez to professional successes even as his personal life suffered.
Audrey Korotkin Two-time Eclipse Award winning broadcaster and first executive director of Triple Crown Productions --Thoroughbred Times