Bookplate author event with Josh Pons: “Adolph Pons, Man o’War, and the Founding of Maryland’s Oldest Thoroughbred Farm

Josh Pons

The Bookplate is concluding their 2024 season of author events with Maryland author Josh Pons on Wednesday, December 18th. Guests are welcome to join Josh and the Bookplate staff for a reading and book signing at 6pm at The Kitchen at the Imperial Hotel. 

In 2016, Josh Pons discovered thousands of letters from his grandfather Adolphe Pons’ life in the Thoroughbred horse business. The son of a French cook in the Gilded Age mansions of banker August Belmont II, Pons immigrated to New York City at the age of five in 1888. In time, he became Belmont’s personal secretary and played a major role in Belmont’s breeding and sale of the most famous horse in history: Man o’ War. During the Great Depression, Adolphe left New York and bought a hundred-acre horse farm in Maryland, naming it Country Life.  

  In expanded form, Josh Pons draws upon the popular column he wrote for three years for BloodHorse magazine, inviting readers along as he unearths long-lost voices of Gilded Age tycoons, their voices speaking out of century-old letters, telegrams, their images in never-before-seen photos. What results is an epic story set against the backdrop of World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.  This is a fascinating chronicle and fresh look at the Golden Age of Horse Racing and how the past influences our present.

“Letters from Country Life is an essential read for anyone who enjoys Thoroughbred racing, farm life, horses, and fascinating American history.” – Brien Bouyea

“A horseman and writer with the soul of a poet.” – Edward L. Bowen

Josh Pons won two Eclipse Awards for his journalism in BloodHorse, presented for best stories of the year in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. He is the author of three books published by Eclipse Press: Country Life Diary: Three Years in the Life of a Maryland Horse Farm, which sold 10,000 copies; Merryland: Two Years in the Life of a Thoroughbred Training Farm (available now in its second printing) and the just-released Letters from Country Life: Adolphe Pons, Man o’ War, and the Founding of Maryland’s Oldest Thoroughbred Farm. 

 
Pons joined BloodHorse upon graduation from the University of Virginia, where he majored in English. After three years as a journalist, he entered the University of Kentucky Law School, graduating in 1982, then he returned to his family’s Country Life Farm. Professionally, he is president of the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center and Vice President of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. He along with his brother Mike operate Country Life Farm, a full-service Thoroughbred farm specializing in breeding and racing partnerships. He and his wife, Ellen, live in Fallston, Maryland, on Country Life, together with an extended Pons family of all ages. 

For more event details, or to reserve your seats, contact The Bookplate at 410-778-4167 or [email protected]. These events are free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended. The Kitchen at The Imperial is located at 208 High Street in Chestertown. The Bookplate will continue their author event series in 2025.