Walter Farley built his career upon a love of horses that began in early childhood, when he played with a black horse toy. The Black Stallion reflects this love and several other aspects of Farley's life.

Much like the novel's teenage hero Alec Ramsay, young Farley rode horseback near his home in Flushing, New York. He often visited the nearby Belmont racetrack, site of Alec's fictional workouts with the stallion.

Farley spent as much time as he could with an uncle who trained horses for shows and races. Characters in The Black Stallion are surely patterned on people Farley met during these times. The awe inspired in Alec by the stallion recalls the boyhood reaction of Farley to the legendary racehorse Man O' War, whose stable he visited with his father on a summer trip to Kentucky.

As a boy, however, Farley never could...