"Original. First time in print."--Cover.

Fifteen-year-old Evan Kendrick has traveled from New Mexico Territory to Galveston, Texas, with his father, Edward, who will be competing in a horse race that's offering a $3,000 prize to the winner. But a terrible accident seriously injures Evan's drunken father, forcing Evan to saddle up instead. And this is no ordinary race. Its course is eighteen hundred miles -- and maybe even longer -- between Texas and New England, and Evan will be riding an only half-broke mustang stallion that he and his father caught. He'll be competing against all breeds of horses, ridden by professionals and amateurs from across the world. Luckily, the race's chief veterinarian, Patrick Jack, takes young Evan under his wing, somewhat reluctantly. But a horse doctor can teach a hot-headed teenager only so much.