No comments about Artes de Mexico # 50. Charreria / Charreria.

1 comments about Harnessing Up (Allen Photographic Guides).

1. I was disappointed when I received this book as it was so thin! It is more of a pamphlet than a book. There are nice pictures, but they get out of order now and then which is confusing, and it is written with very British terminology. This book does not give you enough information to harness up, though it did have a few helpful hints. Also, there were no descriptions on the different parts of the harness until the last page, which had a poorly drawn diagram. Save your money.

1 comments about Cross-Country Riding, New and Revised Edition.

1. I love this book. The pictures are great and the limited amount of writing is even better. It explains how every type a cross-country fence should be ridden. There are pictures of each type of fence being ridden correctly and with an occaisional wrong example with a short paragraph to explain what you are looking at. I don't care to read much and I don't learn well from reading, so this book is great. If I am going to school my horse and want a refresher on how to ride a down hill verticle all I have to do is pick up the book, it only takes a minute. It also makes a great coffee table book with all the pictures.

No comments about Ride of a Lifetime: The Sandy Hawley Story.

No comments about Hialeah Park: A Racing Legend.

No comments about The World Atlas of Horse Racing.

5 comments about Suffolk Downs (MA) (Images of Sports).

1. "Suffolk Downs ", by Christian Teja, is a compilation of photographs that chronicle the history of the track and the personalities who have graced it. It also covers special events that were held at the track, including the famed Beatles concert and the annual Hot Dog Safari. Special attention is given to famous horses that have raced at Suffolk, including Sea Biscuit, Riva Ridge, and Cigar.
   
   There is no text to speak of, but each photograph has an interesting caption beneath it. Thus, the book is an easy read for time challenged individuals. It's interesting to see how popular horse racing was in the '30s and '40s, and how large the crowds were at Suffolk Downs in comparison to the present.
   
   It's about time that someone recognized the historical as well as the nostalgic value of this wonderful track, and I hope it will entice new fans to attend the races at Suffolk Downs so it doesn't fall into obscurity like many other New England racetracks. This year, Suffolk Downs observes its 70th birthday!



2. Even for someone who is not necessarily a horseracing fan, this is an enjoyable book. It gives a great flavor of past times when life was slower and leisure was truly enjoyed. There are wonderful pictures of many non-racing events as well.



3. "Suffok Downs" by Christian Teja hits the perfect dynamic, intertwining the visual, historical, personal and statistical elements that make sporting so captivating. The photos and captions together tell you not only where the track itself has been and is going, but also where the lives that have touched it have been and are headed. This is true for the human and non-human alike, including the great horses of course, but even other characters ranging from the Beatles to Rin Tin Tin. In one of my favorite depictions, the photo shows the great finish in the 1987 MassCap and Teja adds the perfect spice by telling the reader that track announcer Jim Hannon's voice cracked in excitement at the conclusion of his call. Teja does a fantastic job making the photos come alive, drawing the reader eagerly into this great book.



4. Teja's photo history of Suffolk Downs not only captures great moments in horse racing but also connects the track's history to interesting cultural and historical events. For New England horse racing fans this book is a must have with tremendous photos that illustrate the colorful history of the East Boston Oval.



5. Suffolk Downs has hosted some of the best Thoroughbred races this country has seen since its opening on July 10, 1935, and the high points of the race track's events are captured in nearly 200 images in Suffolk Downs, a visual treat surveying the horse-racing championships which have been featured over the decades. Vivid and vintage black and white shots show both races in progress and before- and after-race scenes, with a range of images capturing both male and female jockeys, sponsors, trainers, and of course, the horses. A fine memoir for horse racing fans.

1 comments about The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac, 2007 (Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac).

1. Like handicapping a race at your favorite Thoroughbred track, there are two (or more) ways of looking at the 2007 edition of the almanac.
   
   It is essential for anyone needing a guide to the recent and past history of the sport in breeding, racing - the tracks, racers & races, owners and trainers - and auctions. But the publication needs a format change in 2008 to give it a new start.
   
   Besides the front "Year in Review" section and a couple other inside features on the past season, the bulk of material is simply updated with one line of new information, with chapters within pages of each other from year-to-year.
   
   Statistics alone don't drive the sport and the Thoroughbred Times weekly publication has outstanding race and auction photographs. Perhaps a yearly recap in photos, along with a history of the sport from the photographic archives of the publication would make the almanac much more visually appealing.
   
   Even the drab layout of the World Almanac got a major boost some years back with photos.
   
   I am hooked into buying the almanac each year due to my involvement in the Thoroughbred industry. The publication may be a means to get a reader curious about aspects of the sport, which may translate into going to the races and then becoming a fan (and getting friends involved, too).
   
   There are too many missed opportunities in the industry to get material out to casual fans or those seeing the sport for the first time and I'm afraid that same rut has captured The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac.
   
   But it's not too late for 2008.

3 comments about Fate, Coincidence and the Outcome of Horse Races.

1. Fate, Coincidence, and the Outcome of Horse Races is not so much about horse races as it is about the superstitions that plague the horse-racing fan. The author shows a rare type of humor, explaining with wry wit why the horse-racing fan should observe certain superstitions: never eat peanuts at a race track; do not keep losing mutuel tickets in your pocket; keep your eyes and ears peeled for the occurrence of coincidences, etc. Armando Benitez affirms that there is a power that arranges the occurrence of every incident on earth, and that sometimes that power is too lazy to scramble its results. Sometimes, also, when there are two or more similarly-named horses in a race, that power will tend to pick one of them to win the race . . . because it is unconsciously influenced by the repetitious occurrence of the names, the same as we are. The book is sprinkled throughout with anecdotes from the race track, quotes and examples from antiquity, and from authors ranging from Herodotus to Arthur Koestler. Whether you believe this stuff or not, or whether you are a racing fan or not, this is a book worth reading. Are there any other titles by this very funny and talented writer?



2. I am a HUGE Horse Racing fan and this book was terrific! Sometimes I feel that I am part horse when I read this book!



3. The intriguing title makes one want to open this book. Because, who has not been tantalized by the occurrence of a coincidence in his or her life? At the race track, especially, even the hardest nosed of race handicappers will occasionally throw their handicapping knowledge to the wind to follow a hunch or coincidence.

   The practicality of the advice in this book aside, it is a little gem awaiting its readership. Full of anecdotes from the race track and from history, it is both fascinating and funny.

2 comments about The Julian Wilson's Great Racehorses.

1. Any book of this kind is bound to be contentious - how do you select 100 horses from over 200 years of racing in several different countries? Inevitably, there is a bias in favor of the last half-century - it is what the author has seen at first hand and it is what anybody buying the book will have seen.
   
   Julian, who fronted BBC TV's racing coverage for many years so is more familiar with such horses, admits to a bias in favor of Britain and Ireland. Only nine American horses (Cigar, Citation, Kelso, Man O' War, Native Dancer, Seattle Slew, Secretariat, War Admiral and Jay Trump) and one Canadian (Northern Dancer) are featured. Some of the others were bred in America, including Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Sir Ivor, but ran their races in Europe. There are also a few horses from elsewhere, mostly France.
   
   Of course, the lack of American horses makes this an ideal companion for similar books by American writers. Such books tend to define the 100 best racehorses very differently, focusing mainly or exclusively on American horses.
   
   Aside from any dispute about which horses are the 100 best ever, this is a well-illustrated book which gives a good summary of each horse's story, together with a list of big race wins and a pedigree going back four generations. Each horse gets 2 or 3 pages including pictures - usually photographs, but a painting in the case of those horses that pre-date photography.
   
   Anybody interested in great British and Irish racehorses is unlikely to find a better book of this type.
   
   Note - although this is listed as unavailable here, it is available in the UK on ISBN 0316644684



2. I wrote in my review of "Thoroughbred Champions : Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century" that I wished somebody had done something similar in Europe on European horses. A British man named Stephen Arnott was kind enough to refer to a book by Julian Wilson that I believe had to be this one. I was able to find a copy of it on Amazon.com.uk and bought it without hesitation. I have not regretted my purchase. This is a perfect companion to the Thoroughbred Champions book by Bloodhorse even though it is done in a different format. For one thing, this book is written by one author not many as "TC" was. Another difference is that the horses are listed in alphabetical order, not in a top 100 ranking. This being a British book, it focuses mostly on European horses, though there are some American horses included. While I might lament the exclusion of a few of my American favorites, their stories are in the TC book and others. This book, as its title suggests, tells the stories of the great race horses up until the time of its publication. A large percentage of the horses listed are flat racers, though there is a significant section dedicated to jumpers as well might be expected from a British book. Though I've never followed the jumping events, I enjoyed reading the accomplishments of all of these horses. Any American fan of horse racing who enjoys the sport for its athletes and not its gambling aspects or politics owes it to themselves to get a copy of this book and learn about some of the great horses from across the pond. Many of their horses have been no less brilliant than our own equine heroes. If you could ever see footage of Seabird II winning the Derby you'd know what I mean. In particular the stories of horses like Seabird II, Ribot, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Nijinsky and a dozen others are must reading for any fan of great horses. I consider this book indispensible to my collection.