The Little Book Of Horse Racing

Do you know what the oldest horse race in Britain is, where the term ‘gee-gee’ comes from, or who is credited with bringing racing to Ascot? Fact-packed but light-hearted in style, this reliable reference book and quirky guide reveals little-known facts, details of classic races, famous riders, racing records, amusing anecdotes and criminal goings-on. A compendium of the fascinating, strange and entertaining, The Little Book of Horse Racing can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about this ancient sport.

Part history, part memoir, this tale of Canada’s heritage horse is a moving odyssey into the past — and one man’s heart. Saving what’s left of our history often falls to a passionate few. This is the case with a group of horse breeders who have pledged to re-establish Canada’s heritage horse, aptly called the Canadian — a breed descended from the Norman horses that took European knights into battle. Habitants of old Quebec called this uncommonly strong breed le petit cheval de fer — the little horse of iron — and in many ways the tumultuous story of this horse mirrors the history of Canada. Little Horse of Iron tells the story of one man and his horse. At the age of 50, Lawrence Scanlan bought his first horse — a Canadian called Saroma Dark Fox Dali. A spirited and untrained young Canadian gelding, Dali taught Scanlan a great deal about patience, fear and courage. Always candid and often amusing, the year-long diary of their relationship deftly explores the joys and sorrows as both horse and human struggle to trust and understand each other. Along the way, we meet the people who prize the Canadian horse’s unparalleled contributions over three centuries — on the family farm, on the battlefield, on the race track and in the show ring. Marvellously detailed and rich in character, Little Horse of Iron is a heart-warming celebration of one horse, and of his breed — Canada’s own.

This volume is an A to Z of horse racing packed with entries on horses, jockeys, events and profiles of some of the most successful trainers. The attached DVD looks at the history of horseracing.

The horse racing crowd is comprised of colorful, passionate people: where else can you find a mixture of farmhands, jockeys, old money, and gamblers? And when you force such an unruly world of disparate and singular people into the structure and formality of the legal system, you get a fascinating array of events and decisions. In twenty-one chapters covering everything from drugs to syndicates to cloning, The Little Book of Horse-Racing Law thoroughly covers the intersection of law and racing.

The Little Book of Kildare is a compendium of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts about this historic county. Here you will find out about Kildare's great houses and historic towns, its monastic heritage, its literary traditions and its famous (and occasionally infamous) men and women. Through quaint villages and bustling towns, this book takes the reader on a journey through County Kildare and its and colourful vibrant past. A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage and the secrets of this ancient country.

Did You Know? In 1824 a Pendleton tollkeeper set up Britain's first true public bus service, thought to be one of the first in the world. Communism can claim to have been conceived, if not born, in Manchester as Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx used to meet in the city. Manchester has the grim distinction of being the place where the first death of the English Civil War occurred. The Little Book of Manchester is an intriguing, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of places, people and events in the city, from its Roman origins to the present day. Here you can read about the important contributions the city made to the history of the nation, learn about the individual communities and how they came together to form the modern city and meet some of the great men and women, the eccentrics and the scoundrels with which its history is littered. A reliable reference book and quirky guide, its bite-sized chunks of history can be dipped into time and again to reveal some new facts about the story of this amazing city. This is a remarkably engaging little book.

The ultimate gift for absolutely every horse owner! Chock full of fun facts, trivia, and illustrations, this fun book will answer all the horse-related questions you could ever have. For example... Who said “The horse is God’s gift to man?” What should you keep in an equine first aid kit? Where did the word flibbertigibet come from? When did General Patton save the famous Lipizzan horses? Why is a horse with two riders the symbol of the Knights Templar? How did the producers of the TV show make Mr. Ed talk? Find out the answers to these intriguing questions and much, much more in this equine extravaganza of horse hints, pony tales, and foal facts.

With the right team, miracles can happen. Even during a global pandemic. Welcome to the story of Mighty Heart, a one-eyed bay colt who captured the attention of horse racing fans all over the world when he won the 2020 Queen’s Plate, Canada’s iconic Thoroughbred race, at Woodbine racetrack. It is the comeback story of a horse whose outlook was bleak after his first few disappointing races, and got worse when the pandemic largely shut down horse racing. It is the comeback story of an owner, Larry Cordes, who had stepped away from racing after suffering a series of personal tragedies. Larry was always smitten with horses and racing, and became an owner when his late wife gave him a birthday gift of a racehorse. A leader in the heavy machine industry in Ontario, Larry’s love for horses became a warm and fulfilling family affair as his wife and daughters joined him in his fabulous obsessions. But the tight-knit group was rocked by the deaths of three family members that forever changed their perspectives on life and Larry, crestfallen, stepped away from his passion. Nine years later, he returned with renewed love for horse racing, and an idea to breed his own horse with the help of some of the finest minds in Ontario’s Thoroughbred industry. It is a heartwarming, comeback story—all because of a little horse that could. Run With a Mighty Heart is a refreshing, joyful read that is full of hope and wonder—showcasing that it truly takes a team to overcome the hurdles that we face in life. We are left cheering at the end.