ABSTRACT
Although famed “animal athletes” have been commonplace in public life for a century, scholars have yet to theorize and account for the human practice of imagining animal celebrity. Further, we might ask how animal celebrity facilitates the use of animals in commercial sport. Consider the media and human interest once focused on Steamboat and Five Minutes to Midnight (rodeo broncos); Mick the Miller (racing greyhound); Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Barbaro, Zenyatta, and Big Brown (thoroughbred racehorses); Big Ben (show jumping horse); Tornado, Red Rock, Bodacious, and Little Yellow Jacket (bucking bulls). By directing attention to such winning animals, various players—from their owners, trainers, and riders to journalists, venue operators, and souvenir manufacturers—have found ways to prosper by reaching beyond frequent gamblers and industry insiders to earn the admiration (and dollars) of a broader public audience.
