One of my fondest treasures -- other than family -- is this 105-year-old watercolor print of the great Dan Patch, Packed inside a sack of stock food as a free advertising gimmick in 1904, it now hangs above the computer in my den where it declares Dan Patch to be the "champion harness horse of the world."

I look at it often, lost in thought about the life and times of the Hoosier-born stallion who became America's first larger-than-life sports superstar.

I've been fascinated by Dan Patch's story since I was a kid.

Born in Oxford, Ind., in 1896, the colt -- whose left rear leg was so crooked that he needed human assistance to stand and nurse -- would develop into arguably the greatest harness-racing horse of all time. He set multiple world pacing records, drew crowds as large as 100,000 and traveled around the country in a plush railroad car adorned with his portrait on each side.

As a 4-year-old in 1900 he was still pulling a grocery cart around the streets of Oxford. But that same year he raced at four county fairs -- his third race was at Crawfordsville and his fourth at Brazil -- to launch a career that would skyrocket in 1901.

Dan Patch never lost a race. By the fall of 1902 he was so dominant that no other owners would pit their horses against him. For the next seven years Dan Patch raced against the clock, drawing tens of thousands of people to tracks across the United States as he continued to lower the world mile pacing record. His 1:55 at the Minnesota State Fair in 1906 was not equaled for 32 years.

All of the incredible elements of Dan Patch's life -- including first-hand accounts of his extraordinary intelligence and charisma -- are captured in the recent book, "Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America," by Charles Leerhsen, an executive editor at Sports Illustrated. The 355-page hardcover was published by Simon & Schuster.

"Crazy Good" is meticulously researched and wonderfully written. If you haven't read it, get your hands on a copy this summer. You'll find it hard to put down.

Leerhsen was interviewed by Carl Bialik, a contributing editor at Gelf Magazine, who asked: "What special challenges do you face, as a writer, when your main character is dead and could never speak?"

Leerhsen's answer: "Dan Patch died in 1916. Even if I had found people who had interacted with him, they might not have realized I was in the room with them. So I had to work harder and find more sources. Fortunately, Dan Patch, besides being very fast, was an extraordinary individual, an extremely handsome, wise and trusting animal who made a deep impression on many people, who were moved to express themselves about him in writing, or to journalists, at the time."

"Crazy Good" traces Dan Patch's life from Oxford through his 14-year tenure with third and final owner Marion Savage, head of the International Stock Food Company in Minneapolis, Minn. While Dan Patch earned more than $1 million on the track, he took in an estimated $13 million for Savage's company. During the first decade of the 1900s the horse's name endorsed everything from Savage's stock food to cigars, washing machines and children's coaster wagons. Hairs from his tail sold for $5 apiece.

Dan Patch was gentle. He loved to be with people, especially children. At the track he would stop after pre-race warm-ups and turn toward the crowd, nodding as if to acknowledge their cheers.

He trained at the famous Savage Racing Stables 20 miles outside Minneapolis, shown in the background of the poster at the top of this blog.. The 600-acre farm -- dubbed the "Taj Mahal" -- included a mansion, several large barns, a one-mile outdoor track and an enclosed half-mile track for workouts during the winter. Thousands trekked to the farm annually to watch Dan Patch work out.

Marion Savage and his beloved horse died only 36 hours apart in 1916. Dan Patch was buried in an unmarked grave on the banks of the Minnesota River. There's no trace of the "Taj Mahal" today; its site is a field of prairie grass and a few trees.

Dan Patch's legend will be celebrated again this year during "Dan Patch Days" June 25-28 in Savage, Minn., and Sept. 11-13 in Oxford.

I can't emphasize enough the depth of Leerhsen's research. His work is factually detailed, incredibly absorbing and, as indicated in the title, "the true story."

Bialik's last question in the Gelf Magazine interview was, "How would Dan Patch do against today's best harness-racing horses?"

"He would kick their ass," Leerhsen said. "The breed has continued to evolve. His world record of 1:55 for the mile was a freakishly fast time, and today the record is in the high 1:40s, but Dan didn't have the benefit of the modern-day sulkies (racing carts) and track surfaces. And nobody since has had his heart and his understanding of what the idea of racing is."

Dan Patch, long since forgotten by most of America, comes charging back to life in "Crazy Good."