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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Equestrian & animal sports > Horse racing > General
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO OWNING, MAINTAINING, AND ENJOYING HORSES. The Whole Horse Catalog, the definitive horse guide, is now completely revised and updated to include everything from advances in nutritional thinking to sources on the World Wide Web. With hundreds of illustrations and a detailed, easy-to-understand text, this new edition of The Whole Horse Catalog is the one-stop book for all your equestrian needs. - Where to look for a horse
- How to select a horse
- How to choose stable construction and furnishings
- Horse health care, feeding, and grooming
- Tack: from bits, bridles, and saddles to halters and harnesses
- Apparel and new equipment advances for riders
- Equestrian sports for participants and spectators alike, including ideas for "holidays on horseback"
- Equestrian magazines, organizations, and Web locations
Filled with advice and contacts, The Whole Horse Catalog is a complete resource guide for the novice and experienced equestrian alike.
Built in 1864 as the nation's first horse racing facility, Saratoga
(New York) racecourse is one of the sport's hallowed sites. This
text details the development and social history of Saratoga the
resort, historically a magnet for the wealthy and famous.
Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award In
1704 a bankrupt English merchant sent home the colt he had bought
from Bedouin tribesmen near the ruins of Palmyra. Thomas Darley
hoped this horse might be the ticket to a new life back in
Yorkshire. But he turned out to be far more than that: and although
Mr Darley's Arabian never ran a race, 95% of all thoroughbreds in
the world today are descended from him. In this book, for the first
time, award-winning racing writer Christopher McGrath traces this
extraordinary bloodline through twenty-five generations to our
greatest modern racehorse, Frankel. The story of racing is about
man's relationship with horses, and Mr Darley's Arabian also
celebrates the men and women who owned, trained and traded the
stallions that extended the dynasty. The great Eclipse, for
instance, was bred by the Duke who foiled Bonnie Prince Charlie's
invasion (with militia gathered from Wakefield races) and went on
to lead the Jockey Club. But he only became a success once bought
and raced by a card-sharp and brothel-keeper - the racecourse has
always brought high and low life together. McGrath expertly guides
us through three centuries of scandals, adventures and fortunes won
and lost: our sporting life offers a fascinating view into our
history. With a canvas that extends from the diamond mines of South
Africa to the trenches of the Great War, and a cast ranging from
Smithfield meat salesmen to the inspiration for Mr Toad, and from
legendary jockeys to not one, but two disreputable Princes of Wales
(and a very unamused Queen Victoria), Mr Darley's Arabian shows us
the many faces of the sport of kings.
On the morning of May 18, 1924, households across America opened
their newspapers to the headline: "Derby Winner Property of Indian
Woman." The woman in question was Rosa Magnet Hoots, a member of
the Oklahoma Osage Nation. The horse, draped in the iconic red
roses signifying his victory in the fiftieth running of the
Kentucky Derby, was Black Gold. In a sport defined by its
exclusivity, the pair's unlikely appearance in the winner's circle
set off a firestorm of speculation that would uncover an origin
story stranger than fiction. Named for the oil that had been
discovered in large quantities in Oklahoma at the time of his
birth, Black Gold was born in 1921 to a mare named Useeit. At the
start of her hard-knocking racing career, Useeit had been purchased
by Al Hoots, for whom she won thirty-two of a staggering 122 races.
What the mare lacked in regality, she made up for in gumption, a
trait Hoots believed could propel her progeny to the hallowed
ground of Churchill Downs. Hoots himself would never see Black
Gold, dying unexpectedly in 1917. But the legend that came to
define the horse would begin with him. Languishing in his deathbed,
Hoots claimed to have a prophetic dream that a colt born to Useeit
would win the Kentucky Derby. He extracted a promise from his wife,
Rosa, to breed the mare to the stallion Black Toney. The decision,
which came to fruition three years after Hoots's death, would set
in motion a story that would forever change Thoroughbred racing. In
Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold, author Avalyn
Hunter explores the personalities and histories that surrounded
Black Gold. Told against the backdrop of a make-or-break moment for
American horse racing and politics at large and framed by the
racial violence that rocked Tulsa in the 1920s, Black Gold's
victory at the Golden Jubilee stands at the intersection of sport
and history. Hunter's work looks behind every stall and tack room
door and celebrates the hard work that goes into a great horse and
its rivals.
Fully updated with a new chapter on A.P.'s knighthood, the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement award and his
new role as a TV pundit When Tony 'A.P.' McCoy announced his
retirement from racing, the shockwaves reverberated across the
world of sport. With more than 4,300 winners to his name, McCoy
seemed to be at the peak of his powers when he suddenly brought
down the curtain on an extraordinary career. But then A.P. McCoy
has always done things his way. In Winner: My Racing Life, AP
reflects upon his unparalleled career, taking the reader from his
humble beginnings in County Antrim to the emotional day at Sandown
when horse racing bade a tearful farewell to arguably its greatest
ever star. McCoy relates in forensic detail the process that led to
his decision to retire, recalls some of his greatest rides, lifts
the lid on his family life and looks ahead to a future no longer
driven by the constant pursuit of victory. The result is a
remarkable insight into the private and public life of a true
winner.
Before his career as a champion racehorse, and his death following
a devastating injury, Barbaro was a colt like any other. In her
traditional poetic style, Lifshin outlines the life of the champion
horse before his fame, highlighting the beauty and grace of the
young colt from his birth, through his youth, and finally to his
time as a champion on the track. The artistic rendering of
Barbaro's life from his early years to his first races culminate in
the celebration of his life after his death in this poetry
collection. from "Those Nights in the Stall" did Barbaro dream
horses galloping? In the dark, starless, did he feel the ground
shaking? Imagine the sound of hooves on turf? Was there some thing
in the wind? The scent of horses thundering past the barn, of
flying manes, the beating of his own heart, louder than hooves?
Each year, for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon in April,
Aintree Racecourse becomes the focus of the sporting world and the
stage of the world's greatest steeplechase, the Grand National.
More than 70,000 spectators at the course along with a global live
broadcast audience of millions thrill to the spectacle of 40 horses
and their riders racing over the world's most famous steeplechase
course.There have been many accounts of the Grand National, but
this book, Aintree, tells the story of the iconic racecourse from
its early days as a flat racing venue, through William Lynn's
inspired inauguration of the first Liverpool Grand Steeple-Chase in
1836, the redesign of fences in the 1880s, and subsequently the
impact of wartime occupations, followed by dramatic postwar decline
to the more recent and welcome renaissance as a three-day festival
of jumping. Aintree also reveals previously unexplored aspects of
the racecourse's colourful history: its spectators, buildings,
animal welfare issues, and some unexpected, remarkable stories such
as the early history of women's football and development of powered
flight.After years of dedicated research, John Pinfold, a leading
historian of the Grand National, exposes some of Aintree's tales as
myths, while adding many a new one to the rich tapestry of the
annals. Aintree, The History of the Racecourse is lavishly
illustrated with numerous pictures never before reproduced. The
author draws on previously untapped sources, including the Topham
family archives, to weave a fascinating story that spans three
centuries.This book will appeal to both the horse racing enthusiast
and the general reader.
Each year on the first Saturday in May, the world turns its
attention to the twin spires of Churchill Downs for the high-stakes
excitement of the "greatest two minutes in sports," the Kentucky
Derby. No American sporting event can claim the history, tradition,
or pageantry that the Kentucky Derby holds. For more than 130
years, spectators have been fascinated by the magnificent horses
that run the Louisville track. Thoroughbreds such as Secretariat
and Barbaro have earned instant international fame, along with
jockeys such as Isaac Murphy, Ron Turcotte, and Calvin Borel. The
Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America's Premier
Sporting Event calls this great tradition to post and illuminates
its history and culture. Rising from its humble beginnings as an
American variation of England's Epsom Derby, the Kentucky Derby
became a centerpiece of American sports and the racing industry,
confirming Kentucky's status as the Horse Capital of the World.
James C. Nicholson argues that the Derby, at its essence, is a
celebration of a place, existing as a connection between Kentucky's
mythic past and modern society. The Derby is more than just a horse
race -- it is an experience enhanced by familiar traditions, icons,
and images that help Derby fans to understand Kentucky and define
themselves as Americans. Today the Kentucky Derby continues to
attract international attention from royalty, celebrities, racing
fans, and those who simply enjoy an icy mint julep, a fabulous hat,
and a wager on who will make it to the winner's circle. Nicholson
provides an intriguing and thorough history of the Kentucky Derby,
examining the tradition, spectacle, culture, and evolution of the
Kentucky Derby -- the brightest jewel of the Triple Crown.
Chicago may seem a surprising choice for studying thoroughbred
racing, especially since it was originally a famous harness racing
town and did not get heavily into thoroughbred racing until the
1880s. However, Chicago in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries was second only to New York as a center of both
thoroughbred racing and off-track gambling. Horse Racing the
Chicago Way shines a light on this fascinating, complicated
history, exploring the role of political influence and class in the
rise and fall of thoroughbred racing; the business of racing; the
cultural and social significance of racing; and the impact
widespread opposition to gambling in Illinois had on the sport.
Riess also draws attention to the nexus that existed between horse
racing, politics, and syndicate crime, as well as the emergence of
neighborhood bookmaking, and the role of the national racing wire
in Chicago. Taking readers from the grandstands of Chicago's finest
tracks to the underworld of crime syndicates and downtown
poolrooms, Riess brings to life this understudied era of sports
history.
Every year the Grand National produces very different stories from
jockeys and horses alike; uplifting scenes from a victor and
heartbreak when a mere inch divides the loser from the winner at
the end of nearly four-and-a-half miles and thirty challenging
fences. In 1839 the first winner was aptly named Lottery. Back
then, huge crowds rode to Aintree by horseback, in carriages, carts
or on foot. Today the Grand National is probably the world's most
famous horse race, with a global television audience of some 600
million in 140 countries. This richly informed book focuses on the
race's various record-breakers, rather than being a purely
chronological history of this greatest of all steeplechases. Many
records have stood the test of time: in 2019, Tiger Roll's second
consecutive victory was the first time that the feat had been
achieved since Red Rum in 1973-74. Anne Holland's authoritative
history celebrates one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles.
'A well-organised and cheerily anecdotal volume' Spectator
Now a major motion picture starring Sam Neill In Life As I Know It,
Michelle Payne tells her deeply moving story. It will lift your
spirits, stir your heart and give you courage. Michelle was put on
a horse aged four. At five years old her dream was to win the
Melbourne Cup. At thirty she rode into history as the first female
jockey to win the Cup. It was a moment that inspired everyone who
dreams of beating the odds.
'Eclipse first, the rest nowhere'. 'Betting shops are a licence to
print money'. Just two of the most enduring and commented upon
quotes about horseracing and betting. Great quotations reverberate
down the years because of their ability to pithily encapsulate a
feeling, a significant event, a universally understood truth, in
just a few, striking, memorable words. Here you will find tributes,
insults, sarcasm, sympathy, bad language, good humour, insight,
ignorance - all the vital ingredients, in fact, of a great day at
the races.
Jockeys perform the most perilous job in sports yet are among the
most underrated athletes in the world. They put their lives on the
line every time they get on a horse, often riding seven or eight
horses a day, five days a week. Most must diet to keep their weight
at levels lower than the average twelve-year-old boy, yet they need
immense strength to control thousand-pound Thoroughbreds. A select
group of riders has risen to the top of their sport, sought after
by racing's leading owners and trainers and paired with the sport's
greatest equine stars. In Ride of Their Lives, Lenny Shulman
profiles riders whose love of racing and desire to win have
propelled them to the top echelon their profession. Pat Day, Gary
Stephens, Jerry Bailey, Corey Nakatani, and Laffit Pincay, Jr. are
among the jockeys who share their stories of how they became race
riders and what it is like to deal with the pressures of riding
fragile, willful racehorses at top speeds day in and day out. They
also tell what it is like to win the Kentucky Derby and just miss
capturing the Triple Crown. In this updated edition, Shulman
profiles Kendrick Carmouche, who had five straight seasons with
more than 200 victories and in 2021 became the first Black jockey
to compete in the Kentucky Derby in seven years.
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