Courses for Horses: A Journey Round Racing in Britain and Ireland
Nicholas Clee
(Weidenfeld & Nicholson, £22)
A BOOK which dutifully trotted around the 59 racecourses in Britain and 26 in Ireland, unless intended as a straightforward guide to layout, amenities and access, would be an exercise in tedium. Instead, the author has journeyed around a select 30 (26 British, four Irish), characterised by their individuality and, in some cases, eccentricity, to offer a picture of the modern horse-racing industry, beloved by participants and followers, arcane to outsiders. The book has been undertaken with some intention of attracting the latter, with care taken to explain what a more informed reader would take for granted.
We are told that Godolphin is Sheikh Mohammed’s training operation, what a selling race is and what the return on a 33-1 bet with a £1 stake would be, for instance. But, whatever the reader’s level, Nicholas Clee is an agreeable companion. Although he never
