Racing Books

The Lancia is a great Rally Car, as illustrated in this magnificent piece of literature from the author. Although the photos weren't really my bag, baby, I am a great fan of the Italian car.

Excellent book, with good photos by Tim Parker. It covers Laverdas short history completely, with a lot of detail about the early years. This etail is not avaialbe in any other book or magazine article. Because the book is (now) 6 years old is doesn't have any information on the new twins, but maybe Tim or Raymond might produce a second edition??!

I own several of these Le Mans annuals by Christian Moity. Let me just say that they are REQUIRED for any fan of endurance racing. Most of the editions are in English but be careful.....some are in French and ONLY available in French (1982 is a prime example). The earlier editions from the late 1970's through early 1980's feature mostly black and white photos but there's NO SHORTAGE of them: Every page is full of detailed pictures from that year's 24 hour race. The newer editions from the mid-1990's forward are in full color and the photos are FANTASTIC! The 2003 annual follows the historic 1-2 victory by Team Bentley with their Speed 8's competing in the special GTP Class for closed-top prototypes. They held off the charge of the Audi's for 24 hours straight resulting in a near-perfect race. The other interesting developement in the LMP group was the young Gunnar Jeanette (Driving for Panoz) locked in a fierce battle for 5th place with a Courage C60. The Prodrive Ferrari Team took top honors in the GTS category by beating the factory Corvette C5-R's by 10 laps......the defeat was even worse for Corvette considering 2003 was the 50th anniversary of the 'Vette. Each book gives you an in depth look at the men/women and machines that take part in the gruelling race. The books usually start off with a historical section devoted to some sort of significant achievement at Le Mans. For example, Cadillac returned to La Sarthe in 2000 for the first time in decades so the historical section was devoted to Cadillacs at Le Mans. The same has been done for Corvette, Bentley, Aston Martin, etc. If there are no particular marques making a historic return to the race, then the section usually talks about what happened decades ago. For instance, if you have a 2002 annual you'll be able to see all the things that happened in years ending in 2. The books show you the complete entry list for the year (One car per page) as well as the drivers, sponsers, etc. Detailed statistics are provided regarding practice times, qualifying, the race itself (Hour by Hour), and finally the race results. The books are so well detailed they even give you the hour by hour pit stops of each individual car along with mountains of additional information. These books are well worth the price of owning them but be warned.....the older they get, the harder they will be to find and they will be EXSPENSIVE! (Yes, these books do appreciate in value) I have a rare English version of the 1979 race that has never been opened.....try finding one of those! The easiest edition to find right now is the 2003 annual (Won by Bentley). Anything older than 1999, however, is practically impossible. Try to buy them the same year they come out; that way you can be reasonably sure about finding a copy.

Learning to Race is a companion volume to the author's previous treatise on sailing provides a fine set of insights on yacht racing, from fundamentals of getting speed out of a boat to equipment, the crew, and how to develop a yacht racing strategy. A fine, basic introduction.

Award-winning author Edward L. Bown continues his chronicle of the most skilled, wise, and successful racehorse breeders in Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders, volume 2. Picking up where volume 1 left off, Legacies of the Turf covers the last fifty years and traces both equine and human family lines with exacting precision. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the meticulous narration; all equine geneaology material is heavily researched and condenced in tree form at the close of the book. A "must-have" for horse enthusiasts avidly interested in following and learning from generations of human and animal legends.

In Legacies Of The Turf: A Century Of Great Thoroughbred Breeders (Vol. 1), racing historian and expert Edward L. Bown presents the stories of some of the greatest Thoroughbred race horses in history and the often charismatic, powerful, or quirky individuals who supported them. Capitalists, philanthropists, and women working with the bloodlines of champion steeds soon learned that the stellar a few sires and dams dominated racing circuit, and true rivalries between both humans and horses, on and off the race field permeate this fascinating, nicely illustrated, and highly recommended horse racing chronicle.

American Horseracing fans might not be aware, but the Jumping Game ( Steeplechasing - National Hunt ) is massive in England. The richest tradition has the Cheltemham-Festival each year in March, a 3-day-extravaganza where english and irish fans gather together in the little Cotswolds Town to celebrate the three ultimative jumping days of the year. The Gold Cup for Chasers is the most prestious race, but that is closely followed by The Champion Hurdle for 2 - mile - hurdlers.
One horse has made Cheltenham his own in the last decade, and this book tells his story: ISTABRAQ. This magnificent grandson of Northern Dancer was bred in purple ( being a brother tho the Epsom Derby winner Secreto ) but fate had other plans. Istabraq ran in Sheik Hamdans colours in John Gosden's care but was slow. A young assistence trainer to John Gosden, John Durkan, spotted Istabraq's talent for the jumping tracks and found a buyer, ultimatly planing to to get his own training career staring. But again fate put its fingers in, this time in the most cruell way. Convinced his charge would be a winner at Cheltenham, Istabraq made it for his first prestigious race for novice hurdlers, but John Durkan was in New York, battling for his life after having found suffering from leukemia. He listend to the radio and his pride and joy can only be guessed as Istabraq powered up the hill to land a massive gamble in winning the Sun Alliance Novice Hurlde.
The Champion Hurlde to crown the new star was on next years agenda, but John Durkan did not live to see it. He died two month prior to the race and as Istabraq went on to become a Legend , winning the Champion Hurdle for three years in a row, his success will forever be bittersweet and a lasting reminder for one man's dream.
Istabraq is a horse of a life-time. Michael Clower tells a grand story very well. He portaits the horse and his colourful connections ( Champion Trainer Aidan 'Brien , now famous for his turf exploids, and his larger-than-life owner and gambler and major ManU-Shareholder J.P.McManus ) and goes through the day-by-day routine of handling a champion as well as giving us all necessary race details.
As the book unfortunatly has never been updated ( Istabraq was retired in 2002 ) , here some words to " the End":
Bidding for the historic fourth win in the Champion Hurlde, Istabraqa challenge was delayed to 2002 due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth-desease. In 2002 Istabrq was 10, and age had caught up. He had developed some athrosis in his legs and was just able to beat a modest rival in his prep-race. But the irish who prayed for him made in favourite for the race in 2002, and we watched in the shock and disbelieve : Istabraq was never able to follow tha field and a wise jockey pulled him up after the secong flight. Istabraq, in not even finishing, received the biggest cheer from the crowd that day. He left the track a champion, was later retired and lives now a relaxed and happy live at his owners stud.

Read this book and dive into the drama, passion, love and pride, that probably only the irish can display to their horses. Michael Clower is irish.

Quick and easy review: the most stunning pics you will see of blue water yacht racing. Great text as well. All sailors should add this to their collection.

This book had me glued. I own a foundation bred stallion and did not know his dam's bloodlines. With each Legends book I read, I learn more of why my stud is the way he is! I have also learned how important research is in breeding quality animals and how they did it then and how it has effected now! An excellent series of books for anyone interested in their horses ancestry.

My family has been in the harness business since before I was born. I have charted many of Peters descendants including Vivid Photo and P Forty Seven not even knowing this story. I am amazed at the lengths you have gone to as a non horse person to include all the details. I also like the way it is written. I must add that while reading about Peter getting 20 lengths on the competition I even became excited. I can imagine the crowd getting louder and louder as he neared the finish line because they still do. I love when people get excited about harness racing. I also learned a thing or two while reading this book. I have seen, probably, thousands of pictures of the first high-wheeled sulkies and never thought about them weighing over 100 pounds. I found that to be an interesting little tidbit. Thank you so much for all the effort you put into bringing this story together. I am truly impressed.