A quarter of a million people braved miserable conditions at Epsom Downs on June 2, 1954, to see the 175th running of the prestigious Derby Stakes. Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Winston Churchill were in attendance, along with thousands of Britons who were all convinced of the unfailing superiority of English bloodstock and eager to see a British colt take the victory. They were shocked when a Kentucky-born chestnut named Never Say Die galloped to a two-length triumph at odds of 33--1, winning Britain's greatest race and beginning an important shift in the world of Thoroughbred racing. Never Say Die traces the history of this extraordinary colt, beginning with his foaling in Lexington, Kentucky, when a shot of bourbon whiskey revived him and earned him his name. Author James C. Nicholson also tells the stories of the influential individuals brought together by the horse and his victory -- from the heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune to the Aga Khan. Most fascinating is the tale of Mona Best of Liverpool, England, whose well-placed bet on the long-shot Derby contender allowed her to open the Casbah Coffee Club. There, her son met musicians John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison and later joined their band.

Featuring a foreword by the original drummer for the Beatles, Pete Best, this remarkable book reveals how an underdog's surprise victory played a part in the formation of the most successful and influential rock band in history and made the Bluegrass region of Kentucky the center of the international Thoroughbred industry.

Why I Wrote Never Say Die

In a 2003 interview on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, the Beatles’ original drummer, Pete Best, told Terry Gross about how he first became acquainted with his future bandmates. Best recalled listening to the 1954 Epsom Derby on the radio with his parents and brother in Liverpool. His mother Mona had become hysterical when the announcer identified an American colt named Never Say Die as the winner of England’s greatest horse race. After Mona regained her composure, she confessed that she had pawned her jewelry to place a bet on the winning horse, at odds of 33-1. Mona plowed her substantial profits into a down payment on her dream home in the West Derby section of town. The sprawling Victorian mansion had a sizeable cellar, where she opened a music club so that neighborhood teenagers would have a place to socialize (and stop trampling through her living room.) The first act to play at Mona’s Casbah Coffee Club included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. The lads had helped with the basement renovation, and some of their artistic contributions still adorn the walls of the venue, which survives as a museum. They called themselves the Quarrymen but would soon be known around the world as the Beatles. When an extended booking in Germany necessitated adding a permanent drummer, McCartney called Pete, whom the lads had heard playing at the Casbah. 

My dad happened to catch the interview and his ears perked up when he heard the Beatles’ link to Never Say Die. His father-in-law was a Kentucky horseman who had helped save the life of the colt, with a dose of whiskey for man and beast, shortly after the young horse’s difficult birth. Dad found the connection fascinating and was convinced that the story should be given the Hollywood treatment. While my own enthusiasm did not initially match his, I was sufficiently intrigued to do a bit of digging for more information about the people associated with the first Kentucky-bred winner of the historic Epsom Derby. I found more than I was expecting, including interrelated narrative strands involving the founder of the Singer sewing machine corporation, the development of the Dakota Building in New York City, and a wealthy, powerful Islamic imam. Taken together, these convergent tales illuminated a critical moment in the development of international Thoroughbred racing.