Horse racing

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My story

My story explains my interest in horse racing. I'll say more eventually.

My UK book reviews

My UK book reviews with a horse theme can all be found here.

My USA book reviews

My USA book reviews with a horse theme can all be found here. They are for the same books as those listed in the UK but on Amazon's American website.

British racecourses

If you want to see racing in Britain, here's a page with links to all surviving British racecourses.

On the Amazon customer reviews DB

Songs with a sporting connection

On the Amazon pop music forum

Horse songs

Buy your horse racing books here

My horse racing books store enables you to easily buy whatever is available from Amazon, whether or not I've reviewed it - but only when I've set it up.

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My story

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How it all began

I had no interest in any kind of sport at school. I actually hated it because I was useless at it. In 1970 (just over a year after leaving school), I was on one of my then-regular holidays in Montrose when, uncharacteristically, it rained the whole time. So I was stuck indoors and ended up watching the horse racing on TV. My interest in the sport was sparked by two things.

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  I got lucky with some small bets that I placed to sustain an interest, having braved the rain to get to the bookmakers and back again.
  
• 
  I saw an amazing performance by a young horse called Mill Reef, little knowing just what an impact he would make in the years to come, first on the racecourse and later at stud.
  

After that, I was hooked on racing. I learned that I could enjoy sport as a spectator but although I have since taken an interest in a variety of spectator sports, horse racing remains my favorite.

My UK book reviews

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Books about horses (and greyhound racing)

As the title of this blog suggests, I am primarily interested in racehorses, but I have reviewed other books about horses too and these can be found at the bottom of the page, along with a book about greyhound racing. Other books about dogs are not featured here, although I have reviewed some.

While most of these books are of British origin, a few are of American origin. If they are unavailable from Amazon.co.uk, try my equivalent USA reviews page.

My horse racing book reviews

Reviews posted
Dynasties (Ed Bowen)
Seabiscuit, an American legend (Laura Hillenbrand)
Ascot: the history (Sean Magee)
Steeplechasing: a celebration of 250 years (Anne Holland)
A long time gone (Chris Pitt)
The Grand National: an illustrated history of the greatest steeplechase in the world (Clive Graham and Bill Curling)
100 favourite racehorses (Nicholas Godfrey)
Horse-racing's strangest races (Andrew Ward)
The great racehorses (Julian Wilson)
World encyclopedia of horse racing (George Ennor)
Grey magic: enigma of the grey thoroughbred (Alan Yuill Walker)
Great racehorses of the world (Roger Mortimer and Peter Willett)
Story of Mill Reef (John Oaksey)
Ouija Board (Lord Derby)
The horses of my life (Richard Dunwoody)
Eclipse (Nicholas Clee)
The authorized biography of Vincent O'Brien (Jacqueline O'Brien and Ivor Herbert)
Mince Pie for starters: a racing life (John Oaksey)
Derby days: fifty years of the Epsom classic (Stewart Peters)
Racing lexicon (Leigh and Woodhouse)
The Byerley Turk: three centuries of the tail male racing lines (K M Haralambos)
History of the Derby Stakes (Roger Mortimer)
Monksfield (Jonathan Powell)
Horse racing (Dennis Craig and Miles Napier)
Sea the Stars (Anne Holland)
Kings queens and four-legged athletes (Martin Smith)
Gentlemen and blackguards (Nicholas Foulkes)
Racehorse (Elwyn Hartley Edwards)
Festival gold (Stewart Peters)
Bullet work (Steve O Brien)
The Aintree Grand National meeting (Andy Stansfield)
The story of your Life (James Lambie)
100 greatest races (Nicholas Godfrey)
Horse racing miscellany (John White)
50 magic moments of the turf (Graeme Roe)
Stud (Kevin Conley)
Her majesty's pleasure (Julian Muscat)
Britain and Ireland's top 100 racehorses (Robin Oakley)
Reviews not available yet
The grey horse: the true story of Desert Orchid (Richard Burridge)
Making the running (Ian Balding)
Horse of a different color (Jim Squires)
Best Mate: triple gold (Henrietta Knight)
Frankie: the autobiography of Frankie Dettori
Murder at the races (short stories by various authors)
My colourful life (Ginger McCain)
A fine place to daydream: racehorses, romance, and the Irish (Bill Barich)
Royal Ascot (Richard Onslow)
Secretariat (William Nack)

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My other horse book reviews

Reviews posted
Great Western horse power (Janet Russell)
Hunting: a portrait (Anne Holland)
Horse country: a celebration of country music and the love of horses (Lisa Wysocky)
Horses in living color (Barbara Livingston)
My animals and other family (Clare Balding)

My greyhound racing book review

Review posted
Tales of the dogs: a celebration of the Irish and their greyhounds (John Martin)

My USA book reviews

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Books about horses (and greyhound racing)

As the title of this blog suggests, I am primarily interested in racehorses, but I have reviewed other books about horses too and these can be found at the bottom of the page, along with a book about greyhound racing. Other books about dogs are not featured here, although I have reviewed some.

Most of these books are of British origin, though some are of American origin. If they are unavailable from Amazon.com, try my equivalent UK reviews page.

My horse racing book reviews

Reviews posted
Dynasties (Ed Bowen)
Seabiscuit, an American legend (Laura Hillenbrand)
Ascot: the history (Sean Magee)
Steeplechasing: a celebration of 250 years (Anne Holland)
A long time gone (Chris Pitt)
The Grand National: an illustrated history of the greatest steeplechase in the world (Clive Graham and Bill Curling)
100 favourite racehorses (Nicholas Godfrey)
Horse-racing's strangest races (Andrew Ward)
The great racehorses (Julian Wilson)
World encyclopedia of horse racing (George Ennor)
Grey magic: enigma of the grey thoroughbred (Alan Yuill Walker)
Great racehorses of the world (Roger Mortimer and Peter Willett)
Story of Mill Reef (John Oaksey)
Ouija Board (Lord Derby)
The horses of my life (Richard Dunwoody)
Eclipse (Nicholas Clee)
The authorized biography of Vincent O'Brien (Jacqueline O'Brien and Ivor Herbert)
Mince Pie for starters: a racing life (John Oaksey)
Derby days: fifty years of the Epsom classic (Stewart Peters)
Racing lexicon (Leigh and Woodhouse)
The Byerley Turk: three centuries of the tail male racing lines (K M Haralambos)
History of the Derby Stakes (Roger Mortimer)
Monksfield (Jonathan Powell)
Horse racing (Dennis Craig and Miles Napier)
Sea the Stars (Anne Holland)
Kings queens and four-legged athletes (Martin Smith)
Gentlemen and blackguards (Nicholas Foulkes)
Racehorse (Elwyn Hartley Edwards)
Festival gold (Stewart Peters)
Bullet work (Steve O Brien)
The Aintree Grand National meeting (Andy Stansfield)
The story of your Life (James Lambie)
100 greatest races (Nicholas Godfrey)
Horse racing miscellany (John White)
50 magic moments of the turf (Graeme Roe)
Stud (Kevin Conley)
Her majesty's pleasure (Julian Muscat)
Britain and Ireland's top 100 racehorses (Robin Oakley)
Reviews not available yet
The grey horse: the true story of Desert Orchid (Richard Burridge)
Making the running (Ian Balding)
Horse of a different color (Jim Squires)
Best Mate - triple gold (Henrietta Knight)
Frankie - the autobiography of Frankie Dettori
Murder at the races (short stories by various authors)
My colourful life (Ginger McCain)
A fine place to daydream: racehorses, romance, and the Irish (Bill Barich)
Royal Ascot (Richard Onslow)
Secretariat (William Nack)

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My other horse book reviews

Reviews posted
Great Western horse power (Janet Russell)
Hunting: a portrait (Anne Holland)
Horse country: a celebration of country music and the love of horses (Lisa Wysocky)
Horses in living color (Barbara Livingston)
My animals and other family (Clare Balding)

My greyhound racing book review

Review posted
Tales of the dogs: a celebration of the Irish and their greyhounds (John Martin)

British racecourses

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I've visited most of them

During the seventies, I visited many of Britain's racecourses, some of them several times. I had an ambition to visit all of them at least once. Lanark and Wye both closed before I had a chance to visit them, but I went racing at Teesside Park a few times; it closed in 1981, the site being used for a shopping centre. After I went freelance in the eighties, I didn't have much time to go racing as I often worked away from home, although I managed to visit some racecourses that I hadn't previously been to. During The nineties job quest, I moved to Birmingham to improve my chances of finding work. While I still had some money, I visited a few more racecourses that I hadn't previously been to, but which were within easy reach of Birmingham. I visited two more during my last period of employment, leaving me with just four racecourses unvisited and still in business, these being Fakenham, Folkestone, Fontwell Park and Hamilton Park. Since then, Great Leighs opened but closed again due to financial problems with no date set for re-opening, and Ffos Las has also opened. Will I get round to visiting all these? Probably not, although I don't rule it out.

British racecourses

Name	Type of racing
Aintree		Jumps
Ascot	Flat	Jumps
Ayr	Flat	Jumps
Bangor-on-Dee		Jumps
Bath	Flat
Beverley	Flat
Brighton	Flat
Carlisle	Flat	Jumps
Cartmel		Jumps
Catterick Bridge	Flat	Jumps
Cheltenham		Jumps
Chepstow	Flat	Jumps
Chester	Flat
Doncaster	Flat	Jumps
Epsom Downs	Flat
Exeter		Jumps
Fakenham		Jumps
Ffos Las	Flat	Jumps
Folkestone	Flat	Jumps
Fontwell Park		Jumps
Goodwood	Flat
Great Leighs	Flat
Hamilton Park	Flat
Haydock Park	Flat	Jumps
Hereford		Jumps
Hexham		Jumps
Huntingdon		Jumps
Kelso		Jumps
Kempton Park	Flat	Jumps
Leicester	Flat	Jumps
Lingfield Park	Flat	Jumps
Ludlow		Jumps
Market Rasen		Jumps
Musselburgh	Flat	Jumps
Newbury	Flat	Jumps
Newcastle	Flat	Jumps
Newmarket	Flat
Newton Abbot		Jumps
Nottingham	Flat
Perth		Jumps
Plumpton		Jumps
Pontefract	Flat
Redcar	Flat
Ripon	Flat
Salisbury	Flat
Sandown Park	Flat	Jumps
Sedgefield		Jumps
Southwell	Flat	Jumps
Stratford-on-Avon		Jumps
Taunton		Jumps
Thirsk	Flat
Towcester		Jumps
Uttoxeter		Jumps
Warwick	Flat	Jumps
Wetherby		Jumps
Wincanton		Jumps
Windsor	Flat
Wolverhampton	Flat
Worcester		Jumps
Yarmouth	Flat
York	Flat

Big race winners

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Links to lists on other websites

Currently limited to European (mainly British) races, but I expect to add American races eventually.

Big race winners

Steeplechasing and hurdling
King George VI Chase, Kempton Park
Queen Mother Champion Chase, Cheltenham
Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Grand National, Aintree
Flat racing
1,000 Guines, Newmarket
2,000 Guineas, Newmarket
Derby, Epsom
Oaks, Epsom
St Leger, Doncaster
Eclipse Stakes, Sandown Park
International Stakes, York
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ascot
Champion Stakes, Newmarket
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp
Irish Derby, Curragh
Irish Oaks, Curragh

Other links

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A miscellaneous selection

By no means comprehensive, but I'll add more eventually.

Other links

General
Cindy Pierson Dulay's racing links
American racing
Blood horse interactive
Exceller fund
US trotting association
British racing
Sporting Life
BBC horse racing
British harness racing club