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If you enjoy reading about some great horses , trained by a legend, Vincent O’Brien’s official biography written by J. O’Brien and I. Herbert.
Alan might slag off his own books, I think "The Inside Track" is a great read.
Although the betting market has moved on a long way since he wrote it, it gives a great insight into how a pro punter went back to the drawing board and created a new way to make profit betting on racing.
So, although the techniques are outdated, you can still model the thinking style.
Steve
Wow guys, this thread is a book in its own right. Some fantastic comments made and a great array of books mentioned.
The amount of books which have been read amongst us why don’t we write our own book about Horse Racing?Thanks
Mark
The Racey Bits, by Siggers and Williams, would have to be the funniest racing book I’ve read.
Agree with the comments about "autobiographies", most are self-serving, ghost-written dross. Richard Dunwoody’s would be an exception, though, one of the rare examples in which you get a flavour of the subject’s character (and what a mixed-up character it is).
Another I would recommend is The Life and Secrets of Alex Bird (professional gambler).
I remember Alex being interviewed on CH4 racing the day before the 1984 2,000 gns. He was so bullish about El Gran Senor winning the race (in fact he said it was a certainty) and although I already fancied the horse, it made me even more confident – so confident, I had my biggest ever bet ever, up until that day.
I also remember The Sun newspaper ran a computerised, all aged mile and a half dream race, featuring most of the great middle distance horses in history, back in the early 80s. Bookmakers took bets on the race. Alex Bird was the man employed to give his views on what might be the outcome. I recall he tipped Mill Reef (carrying 9-7 as a 4 yr old) to win the race – it did at 20/1 (Bird was on!) against other greats such as Ribot, Sea-Bird, Nijinsky, Vaguely Noble, Petite Etiolle, Alleged et al. Following the result, I cried fix, fix, fix!
Let’s face it, Sea – Bird would have hacked up!
The next day he conceded that on reflection, no horse ( not even Mill Reef, he said) could have given 13 pounds to great horses like Nijinsky and Sea – Bird. But being the old pro that he was, he obviously waited until he had secured the ridicuously fancy price on Mill Reef winning.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Mark Johnstons bio/rant by Nick Townsend is excellent. Covers current issues superbly and is very illuminating
Seabiscuit is wonderful. Far better than the film. Genuinely moving but not in the slighest bit mawkish or sentimental. Gripping to. Best of the lot really
Agree about Jamie Reids books (but avoid his novel which was rubbish) and alan potts is talking rubbish about his own books. They are excellent and many prinicples remain the same im sure
A suprisingly good read is Richard Pitman’s bio of Martin Pipe. Simon Barnes book about a season at John Dunlops is beautifully written too
The Dunwoody bio is the best bio ive read by far. Graham Bradleys is wildly overrated and i will attempt Mccoys if i get insomnia
Be careful with the Dunwoody book – don’t get caught out by one about his ‘favourite rides’ which was churned out by a ghost writer with an eye on the Xmas market and is absolutely awful.
Same with Johnston – the current book may be good, but an earlier effort called Always Trying was misnamed as it was Always Unreadable.
Not easy to find nowadays, but a fascinating read from the 60’s is a book called called Classic Lives by Caroline Silver (I think). It follows the lives of a group of horses from birth to racecourse, one of which proved to be a top class juvenile.
AP
Alan, you are too modest about your books. They are well worth a read.
Jamie Reid’s "A Licence to…" is both entertaining and well-written.
Sean Magee’s "To win Just Once" is an interesting insight into the life of a journeyman jockey — all the more poignant because the original subject of the book Richard Davis died after a fall at Southwell.
Stan Hey’s "An Arm and Four Legs" is a brilliant demolition of the Martin Pipe stable. It’s fascinating, full of great observations and very well-written.
best horse racing book i have read is called always back winners, written by a pro gambler by the name of stewart simpson i think. great read, really funny at times its a bit old now but some of stewarts info would still be useful today.. anybody else read it?????
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Long-Shot-Sea … 1586484494
This is my next read
Read some very good things about this. Available in the UK on amazon too
Agree about the Stan Hey book too. Terrific read
There’s a book advertised on that link which is similar, Clive. Horseplayers by Ted McClelland. Entertaining, insightful and beautifully written. A one-sitting read.
Jamie Read’s autobiographical account of the early days of his betting was disappointing, to say the least. Probably written in Cheltenham Tatts after a few Smirnoffs. Has Sir Clement Freud ever written a book on the subject? If not, he should do.
Ought to mention David Ashforth’s semi-autobiographical Hitting the Turf. Engaging and funny.
Ouija Board by her owner Lord Derby is worth a look for the pictures alone, which are excellent.
If you want to see photos of loads of tracks around the world try this one:
The World’s Greatest Racecourses
Paul Haigh
Courses selected: Arlington, Ascot, Baden-Baden, Belmont Park, Chantilly, Churchill Downs, The Curragh, Deauville, Del Mar, Epsom Downs, Flemington, Goodwood, Happy Valley, Kranji, Kyoto, Leopardstown, Longchamp, Moonee Valley, Nad Al Sheba, Nakayama, Newmarket, Randwick, Santa Anita, Saratoga, Sha Tin, Tokyo, Woodbine and York.
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