History of the British Turf, vol. I

James Rice

One of the interesting things about nonfiction writing of this sort from the Victorian era is that its authors tend to write as if certain pieces of common knowledge in their time and place were the kinds of things that were set in stone, and would be common knowledge forevermore. One cautions the casual reader who picks up Rice's massive *History of the British Turf *that it's entirely likely you'll have no idea what's going on if you've not studied recent British history as it relates to horse racing (and even then, you're likely to be somewhat confused by some of Rice's shorthand, not to mention characters who pop up and disappear again; no doubt famous in their day, but unknown a century and change later). To the more serious fan of the sport and its personages, however, there is a good deal to be enjoyed in this surprisingly readable volume (I'm trying to track down the second now).

Needless to say, writing an "official" history of horse racing and related pursuits was a commission at the time, and thus much of Rice's writing as it pertains to various humans, especially those still alive at the time of the book's 1879 publication, should be taken with as much salt as necessary; however, the book is a fount of information about horses and their pedigrees, old stakes races, the British racing calendar in the first three quarters of the nineteenth century, and the like. And, of course, Rice (or his patron) wouldn't have been averse to casting aspersions on those out of favor with the commissioner at the time (the last Marquess of Hastings, especially, gets devilishly short shrift, in great detail, in the final chapter of this volume), so there are some instances of the kind of malicious gossip that keeps people royalwatching even today.

Overall, a wonderful volume, well worth the time, effort, and coin it takes to seek out these days. Have at it.