Encylopedia of British Horseracing

[garyoz]

Terrible book. It was supposed to have been published a year ago, but was finally released. Two tables in the whole book, no figures, no pictures, just 347 pages of text. Has the feel of a cut and paste job. It as if the authors did key word searches and just dumped the material into a book. Much of the content is very general and not highly related to British Horseracing.

For example, one of the first entries under "A" is Alcohol. The entry reads, "All racecourses sell Alcohol: it is a significant contriubtor to revenue and part of the day for many racegoers...."(goes on for another 3 paras about sponsors of races by beverage companies and also mentions that jockeys have had problems with alcohol).

You get the drift. I was hoping for a book that showed figures for racecourses, maps, tables for jockeys, trainers, breeding, etc. A detailed history of racing in some chronological form. British horseracing deserves more than this.

The publisher is Routledge. I know them as an academic publisher, and personally have never thought much of their academic books either.

[sq764]

I could tell that was a horrible book simply by the title..

I think I'd rather read an Oprah magazine than that

[MooseDog]

Look for a long out of print book called Champion Horses by MAURIZIO BONGIANNI. Pub 1984.

It's a beautifully illustrated slightly oversized coffee table book that has illustrations of great horses from around the world, including flat, steeplechase, and harness. The bonus is that there are diagrams of all of the major tracks in the world at the back of the book.

You can find it on Amazon used for about $9 and up. Well worth it.

[garyoz]

Thanks MooseDog, I ordered from Amazon. They had more than a half dozen used ones available.