There are so many different platforms available to get closer to your favourite sports nowadays, but one of the most popular remains books.
Besides placing their bet online with TwinSpires.com, horse racing fans can also get closer to the sport by literature. And then learn more about one of the most famous pastimes by reading some of the most renowned books out there.
However, which titles should be towards the top of all fans wishlists?
Remarkable Racecourses
Released in 2018 by author Tom Peacock, ‘Remarkable Racecourses’ is a must for all horse racing fans. One of the main reasons for that is down to the fact that fans can use it as a bucket list of courses that they need to visit at least once before they die.
There are courses from around the world featured in the book, with a total of 70 covered throughout the book. Among the most popular courses that can be found include Laytown, which is located in Ireland.
The course is the only one run on a beach surface. Meanwhile, St Moritz in Switzerland is also staggering, as it is one of the only races that takes place on ice. As well as the unique courses, fans can also get a closer look at courses such as Cheltenham, Santa Anita and Epsom Downs, which are highly regarded around the world.
Dream Horse
One of the main reasons why horse racing is loved by millions around the world is down the stories that make fans feel something special. One of the most beautiful stories can be learned about in ‘Dream Horse’, which was released in 2019.
The book tells the story of a horse called Dream Alliance. Rewbell was brought for just £1000 after a barbed wire injury before being used for breeding Dream Alliance.
He was owned by the Rewbell Syndicate, which consisted of 30 members that paid £10 a month. Dream Alliance went into training when he was three with trainer Philip Hobbs.
Tragedy struck in 2008 in the lead up to the Grand National, as he suffered a sliced tendon.
However, after surgery, he returned to the track. Just over a year later, Dream Alliance was entered into the Welsh Grand National, and made national headlines by winning the illustrious race by over three lengths.
He would get a lot of media attention before the Grand National in 2010 but would ultimately not run and was retired in 2012. But, the story is one of the most heartwarming in the sport’s history and made it into the big screen with a movie adaptation in 2020.
Ruby: The Autobiography
There are few more recognisable stars in the world of horse racing than Ruby Walsh. The Irishman remains a prominent figure in the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and features regularly on ITV Racing.
Walsh remains one of the most successful jump jockeys of all time, and fans can get a greater insight into what made one of the most dominant jockeys of all time tick. The book starts from the very beginning from his early days in Kill, County Kildare.
Walsh also goes into greater detail surrounding his relationships with Sir Anthony McCoy, Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls. One of the most fascinating insights comes as he talks about his comeback from a broken leg in 2010, where he was written off by many.
However, he returned to finish the Cheltenham Festival as the leading jockey, something that he would achieve on eleven occasions throughout his career. Walsh also rode two winners of the Grand National, including Hedgehunter in 2005.
