Driving Home (2001)

More than anything else, with this image I wanted to create the feeling of movement and power. I put a small jockey atop a great horse and reduced the details down to the essentials. The eye follows the jockey’s form up to the top of the image, where the cap and crop send you back down again. Finally the rich brown of the horse sends you left to the girth and jockey and it all goes around again. I feel like I’ve just missed seeing the entire jockey — he’s just moving too fast. These are the silks colors and number of the 2000 Travers winner, Unshaded.

In my original sketches for the 2001 poster I actually drew two complete thoroughbreds side-by-side. I had drawn their nostrils flaring, manes flying and all their tack. I showed the two jockeys shoulder-to-shoulder, locked in combat. All eight hooves mid-air — or most of them anyway — and even the track surface and trees beyond. Then I stepped back and looked at it. It was so busy it made me dizzy. So I began to simplify the image, refining it until I could take no more away. I like this simple image so much more. You can see part of the original second jockey on the t-shirt design I did for this year’s Travers. The format for the shirt art is wider, so I was able to show part of the original background. I like it, too!

Two Poster Versions: This poster comes in both a Travers, and a Saratoga version. The artwork is the same on both posters, only the type changes. Look for the "Poster Version" pull-down menu above the price to see and select one.

All posters are hand signed by Greg Montgomery. For special attributions (Congratulations, See you next year!, etc.) Please fill out the Special Instructions Box at Checkout.

Production Details:
This is the 16th poster in The Colors of Racing poster series.
17" x 33" (43.2 cm x 83.8 cm) Limited Edition
(The Travers/Saratoga posters are never reprinted)
Paper: Strobe 80 lb. dull cover
Inks: Five colors plus off-line varnish
Typeface: Adobe Garamond
The inks for this poster were provided by INX International Inks, Inc.