[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for all of the contributions to date. I suppose it is inevitable that the books which will still be used in 100 years time are likely to concern the racehorses which have been exceptional. Is the same true about exceptional trainers or jockeys? Thanks therefore to the latest emailers who have suggested Frankel, Dawn Run, A P McCoy and Henry Cecil.
1. A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt
2. Seabiscuit; Three men and a racehorse by Laura Hillenbrand
3. Eclipse; The horse that changed horse racing forever by Nicholas Clee
4. McIllvanney on horse racing
5. Arkle by Ivor Herbert
6. Men and Horses I have known by George Lambton
7. Brigadier Gerard by John Hislop
8. A Jockeys Life by Dick Francis
9. Queen of the turf by Quintin Gilbey
10. Mr Darley’s Arabian by Chris McGrath
11. Neck and Neck by John Welcome
12. Horsesweat and Tears by Simon Barnes
13. Frankel, edited by Andy Pennington
14. Dawn Run by Anne Holland
15. When Birmingham went racing by Chris Pitt
16. Winner: My Racing Life by A P McCoy
17. Henry Cecil, Trainer of Genius by Brough Scott
18. Not by a long shot
19. Timeform chasers and hurdlers of …
20. Timeform racehorses of ….

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for all of the contributions to date. I will continue to update the list as opinions come in.
1. A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt
2. Seabiscuit
3. Eclipse; The horse that changed horse racing forever
4. McIllvanney on horse racing
5. Arkle by Ivor Herbert
6. Men and Horses I have known by George Lambton
7. Brigadier Gerard by John Hislop
8. A Jockeys Life by Dick Francis
9. Queen of the turf by Quintin Gilbey
10. Mr Darley’s Arabian by Chris McGrath
11. Neck and Neck by John Welcome
12. Horsesweat and Tears by Simon Barnes
13. When Birmingham went racing by Chris Pitt
14. Not by a long shot
15. Timeform chasers and hurdlers of …
16. Timeform racehorses of ….

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks Drone for the supportive comment and for the suggested link. Time might show that there is not a direct correlation between ‘The best book ever written’ and a book that stands the test of time. I am sure that a horse like Arkle, Frankel, Eclispe or Seabiscuit will still be remembered in 100 years time, so that the best books about those horses will also still be valued. However, I have used the suggested link to form the following as being most likely to stand the test of time:-
1. A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt
2. Seabiscuit
3. Eclipse; The horse that changed horse racing forever
4. Arkle by Ivor Herbert
5. Men and Horses I have known by George Lambton
6. Brigadier Gerard by John Hislop
7. McIllvanney on horse racing
8. A Jockeys Life by Dick Francis
9. Queen of the turf by Quintin Gilbey
10. Neck and Neck by John Welcome
11.Horsesweat and Tears by Simon Barnes
12. When Birmingham went racing by Chris Pitt
13. Not by a long shot

[dashingcustomer]

Very grateful Clivexx for the positive comment. I think Seabiscuit must go to the top of the pile, and agree with you that it will still be read in a 100 years time.
Current standing:-
1. Seabiscuit
2. A Long Time Gone
3. Not by a Long Shot

[dashingcustomer]

Surely a book with such content is bound to always be more useful as a reference book to dip into rather than one to read from cover to cover. I have had a copy for 20 years now and have never once read it from cover to cover. However, whenever I visit somewhere which did, at one stage, have a racecourse then I use Chris Pitt’s book to inform me about the course and its whereabouts. In my view it is an excellent book, and would have been even better if it had covered more former courses than the 60 or so which it did cover in detail.

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess pundits fall into two camps, the purists and the basic noncomformists. Although both Chris Pitt, in his book ‘A Long Time Gone’, and I are unorthodox in most people’s eyes, we will now be ‘working towards’ purist status by trying to count Newmarket twice. It is much appreciated that you have pointed this out.

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for the really heart-felt response. You clearly know your stuff and still pine for the likes of Lincoln, Teesside Park and possibly even Lewes (which still has a very good following). I even know of some people who continue to miss Rothbury and Bogside.
Chris Pitt’s excellent book, written 20 years ago, covers all of these.
Does anyone know of any other books on the subject?

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for the reply; I still make it only 60 outside of Ireland; are you including Folkestone?

[dashingcustomer]

Thanks for both replies, particularly the very detailed one from graysonscolumn. I hadn’t realised that my question was so complex and ambiguous. The 85 courses I was referring are the Uk and Irish courses; I appreciate in England/Scotland/Wales there are now 59, with a further 26 under rules in Ireland.
Thanks for the tip on Chris Pitt’s Book, which I believe was written in 1996.

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