Letters

Driven Woman

Thank you for portraying Danica Patrick as the highly motivated and talented athlete that she is, instead of a sex symbol. I am so tired of seeing female sports stars turned into objects to be admired for their beauty, not their ability. The slogan on your cover, YES SHE CAN, is an inspirational one for young and aspiring female athletes.
Tara Marshall, Keswick, Ont.

If Danica Patrick really wants to be considered a top level driver in the IRL (Forget the Hype, May 19), she must race for the lead more often than she has in her 50-odd races. Her win in Japan was based on fuel mileage, and while I have always been O.K. with drivers winning that way, it's not the same as going out and being the fastest.
Terrence L. Pansino, Louisville, Ohio

Babe Truth

Bonnie Richardson scored a remarkable achievement by single-handedly winning the Texas Class 1A team track championship (PLAYERS, May 19) with top three finishes in four events, but the feat is not entirely without precedent. In 1932 another Texan, Babe Didrikson, won a team title by herself—against world-class competition in the AAU championships, which were the de facto Olympic trials at the time.
Mark Miller, Peoria, Ariz.

Dandy Dan

Thanks for Charles Leerhsen's book excerpt on Dan Patch (The Horse We Rode in On, May 19). I worked at a harness racing track as a groom for more than two years, and I believe that standardbreds have never gotten the credit they deserve. In a time when thoroughbreds dominate news coverage, people are generally unaware of the fact that some of the most talented horses on earth aren't even allowed to canter or gallop when they race.
Averi Clements, McMurray, Pa.

The book except on Dan Patch brought back memories of my childhood. We lived within walking distance of Hawthorne & Sportsman's Park in Cicero, Ill., and my grandfather made it a Sunday-afternoon ritual to take me for a walk to the track to watch the "sulkies" train. The stories of Dan Patch were told in reverence even then, 30 years after the horse's death.
Carl Pietrzak, Houston

If you take a drive through Oxford, Ind., you will see streets named for Dan Patch and signs commemorating him. While Dan Patch may not have a marker on his grave in Minnesota, he is very much alive and loved in the town of his birth.
Michael L. Miller, Lafayette, Ind.

Turning the DPs