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Another vote for George Lambton’s 1924 book Men and horses I have Known.
Anyone even vaguely interested in late 19th and early 20th century horse racing would doubtless enjoy this work. Amongst other subjects, Lambton writes well on the career of Pretty Polly.
Honourable mentions are due for Nicholas Clee’s Eclipse, which contains some revealing passages concerning social history in the late 18th century, and John Welcome’s Neck Or Nothing, a biography of Sceptre’s owner Bob Sievier.
Anything by Chris Pitt is a contender for this category and I’d add ‘When Birmingham Went Racing’ as from his portfolio that would stand up against anything else. The man is a historian and researcher of the highest quality
Not sure if it is the best ever written but To Win Just Once about the I’ll fated young jockey Richard Davies
Timeform Racehorses Of …. (the previous season)
and
Timeform Chasers And Hurdlers Of …. (the previous season)Reading these jewels get me looking forward to the season to come.
Value Is EverythingAnything by Chris Pitt is a contender for this category and I’d add ‘When Birmingham Went Racing’ as from his portfolio that would stand up against anything else. The man is a historian and researcher of the highest quality
Here, here to that Rob.
I tried to get Chris Pitt interested in doing a book on Stockbridge Racecourse (once as important as Goodwood). He told me Stockbridge would’ve been in A Long Time Gone had it kept open for around 5 more years.Value Is EverythingRead an awful lot of Horse-Racing Books in my youth and one that I particularly enjoyed was ‘ The Barry Brogan Story ‘ by surprisingly enough, Barry Brogan.No idea how much of it was true but was certainly great fun.
I must confess that after a while I gave up on most Horse-Racing literature if for no other reason that in common with the vast majority of British Sporting Literature it was unbelievably bland. I don’t know if this down to our ridiculous libel laws but in comparison to American Sports writing most of the stuff that originates from here is to put it bluntly selling-class.
Whilst I would agree with many others who have already contributed that Mcilvanney stands out amongst his peers in the UK, I rather suspect that he has not got much competition as the best writers don’t tend to cover Sports in this country.
I have read hundreds of books on horse-racing over the years but the best I have ever read is “Horse racing is not about horse racing” now reprinted as “addicted to horse racing” by Norton Howells. try it and see
Joe is there anywhere I can get the whole set?
The problem is I am old fashioned and still read actual books!!
Raymo, Amazon sell them in paperback but they charge a lot in comparison to eBooks – about 4 times the cost in most cases (Amazon do it on a print on demand basis and take a very heavy percentage for doing so).
There are old paperback copies lying around from first publication with Harper Collins and Hodder, but I’d avoid them too as the books were substantially rewritten when relaunched as eBooks.
You don’t need any special devices to read the eBooks – you can read them on a PC or iPad or smartphone if you don’t have a kindle. Though I realize it might well be just that you are an avid print man; there are still many around who much prefer print!
The first three books are printed in a collection https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eddie-Malloy-Joe-McNally-ebook/dp/B00CL58JK0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472297119&sr=8-2&keywords=the+eddie+malloy+series
I read Seabiscuit as a teenager and thought it was superb. Never seen the movie.
Not a ‘racing’ book per se, but I also think Stud: Adventures in Breeding by Kevin Conley is an engaging and interesting read.
Anything by Chris Pitt is a contender for this category and I’d add ‘When Birmingham Went Racing’ as from his portfolio that would stand up against anything else. The man is a historian and researcher of the highest quality
Here, here to that Rob.
I tried to get Chris Pitt interested in doing a book on Stockbridge Racecourse (once as important as Goodwood). He told me Stockbridge would’ve been in A Long Time Gone had it kept open for around 5 more years.Stockbridge racecourse would definitely make a very interesting subject. I would look forward to a book about that course.
I think this thread connects with the one on ITV …
For me, most horse racing books published by commercial publishers are disappointing. Partly that’s a function of type; partly it’s about who gets to write them (and what they can write).
There are three main categories: ‘horse-specific’ (aimed at the horse fan); auto/bio of key jockey, trainer and allied others, such as commentators (mostly ghosted), and annual gazetteer publications (e.g. Racehorses in Training). Leaving the latter alone as a special case, authors tend to be a mixture of racing journalists and more general sports writers. Largely, they come from what might be termed an ‘inner circle’; most therefore need to keep their lines of access to the industry open. Plus, for the publisher, there is the legal framework to consider. This has an effect on what is finally approved for publication. Occasionally disputes between subject and author reach the public domain, such as with the Henry Cecil bio. More often, they don’t – and the result is the kind of bland, rose-tinted, celebratory and often sycophantic publication we can all think of. Interesting exceptions to this are a couple of books where anthropologists (outsiders) have turned their research skills to look at the racing industry. They are Kate Fox’s The Racing Tribe and Rachel Cassidy’s The Sport of Kings. I’ve found the first of these the best book to give to people I know who don’t understand horse racing – it’s spot on.
Other than these, there are two stand-out ‘horse’ ones for me – Ivor Herbert’s Arkle & Richard Burridge’s The Grey Horse (Dessie, of course). The more recent one on Foinaven is also well above average. They are all horse books, more than picture books with a few bits of factual text thrown in (the norm in the ‘horse’ category).
In terms of racing/breeding, Philip Jodidio’s A Racing and Breeding Tradition – on the history of the Aga Khan Studs to the present day is a magnificent insight into a long view of bloodstock.Hello Great subject. I think Richard Dunwoodys Obsessed is a great read. He really does seem to come across obsessed in his pursuit to be the best. Also I think Peter Scudamores is a good book. The Barry Brogan book is also very revelling if its all true. It gives me a idea for a question for the forum. What books that haven’t be written yet about horse racing would you like to see done? For me I like the autobiographys it would be good if people like Nicky Henderson or Kieren Fallon wrote books. I think Sam Morshead has done a book that should be interesting.
A few spring to mind.
Sir Charles Leicester’s Bloodstock Breeding, maybe a little out of date but still a very informative publication.
Nearly everything by Roger Mortimer; the Great Racehorses of the World books were and still are big favourites.
John Hislop wrote some good racing books with some revealing anecdotes. His biography of Brigadier Gerard is one of the best equine biographies, even though other writers since have argued that the horse was “chance bred”.
Of more recent books, the Foinavon one stands out and also the one about Manton.I don’t know how much of it has dated as I haven’t re-read it for a while, but Horsesweat and Tears by Simon Barnes has always been a favourite of mine. Barnes is a decent journalist/writer anyway and this was his account of a year (1987) spent in John Dunlop’s stable.
A few spring to mind.
Sir Charles Leicester’s Bloodstock Breeding, maybe a little out of date but still a very informative publication.
Nearly everything by Roger Mortimer; the Great Racehorses of the World books were and still are big favourites.
John Hislop wrote some good racing books with some revealing anecdotes. His biography of Brigadier Gerard is one of the best equine biographies, even though other writers since have argued that the horse was “chance bred”.
Of more recent books, the Foinavon one stands out and also the one about Manton.As a teenager, one book that got me interested in the wider racing industry was “Breeding For Racing”, by John Hislop.
Value Is EverythingAn unconsidered gem is Bill Barich’s “Laughing In the Hills” for a totaly different take on the racing experience.
I also rate Tesio’s “Breeding Racehorses” and Peter Willet’s “The Classic Racehorse”
From a punting perspective Steve Davidowitz’s “Betting Thoroughbreds” especially the revised editions and Beyer’s “My $50000 Year At The Races” although USA driven their truths are universally clear and although he gets slammed on most forums now Nick Mordin’s body of work stands up from a UK perspective for pre-Mordin who and what did we have? (Think about it)
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