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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
An interesting book with a wide scope, 23 Jan 2003
This fascinating and lavishly illustrated book cannot possibly cover any aspect of horse racing in detail, but it certainly lives up to its grandiose title, although perhaps the word thoroughbred should have been included in the title. Flat racing, steeplechasing and hurdling are all covered, but harness racing and quarter horses are omitted.The first chapter covers the early history of the sport, particularly in Britain, the USA and Australia. The second chapter (Racing around the world) covers many countries where horse racing takes place, from the super-rich to the desperately poor. The next few chapters cover major races, important horses, jockeys, owners and trainers, gambling, controversies and scandals. The final chapter is for general trivia - this is followed by a chronology of events, giving a potted history of the sport. Fans will always argue that some names that were omitted are more important than some that have been included (and I am no exception), but that's the nature of all books which attempt to select the best ever of anything. In any case, all horses and jockeys that have achieved fame with the general public who don't normally follow the sport are here. Among the horses are Arkle, Cigar, Dr Fager, John Henry, Man O' War, Mill Reef, Nijinsky, Red Rum, Sea Bird, Seabiscuit and Secretariat. As you will see, it's a truly international list, including steeplechasers as well as flat racers. The list of jockeys covered is also impressive. As a general overview of racing worldwide, this book serves its purpose (except for the omission of harness and quarter horses) - even the most knowledgeable fans will find stuff here that's new to them - but if you want to know a lot about particular aspects of the sport, you must look elsewhere. This is a great beginning - or addition - to any library of horse racing books.
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