The Cambridge Companion to Horseracing

New perspectives on the history and possible futures of horseracing.

The Cambridge Companion to Horseracing

Edited by Rebecca Cassidy

An Original Paperback / ISBN: 9781107618367 / 240pp / £17.99

Published: April 5th, 2013

People have been racing horses for thousands of years, all over the world. Yet horseracing is often presented as an English creation that was exported, unaltered, to the colonies. This Companion investigates the intersection of racing and literature, art, history and finance, casting the sport as the product of cross-class, cosmopolitan and international influences. Chapters on racing history and the origins of the thoroughbred demonstrate how the gift of a fast horse could forge alliances between nations, and the extent to which international power dynamics can be traced back to racetracks and breeding sheds. Leading scholars and journalists draw on original research and firsthand experience to create portraits of the racetracks of Newmarket, Kentucky, the Curragh, and Hunter Valley, exposing readers to new racing frontiers in China and Dubai as well. A unique resource for fans and scholars alike, reopening essential questions regarding the legacy and importance of horseracing today.

Table of Contents

Horseracing: a chronology

Introduction Rebecca Cassidy

1. Sporting with kings Richard Nash

2. The thoroughbred in British art Douglas Fordham

3. The fiction of horseracing Jane Smiley

4. From Godolphin to Godolphin: the turf re-laid Wray Vamplew

5. Festivals Sean Magee

6. Bodies on the line: the social and physical capital of race riding John Maynard

7. Life in the backstretch James Helmer

8. Irish racing's peaceable kingdoms Michael Hinds

9. 'Sydney or the Bush': adaptation, centrality and periphery in Australian horseracing Wayne Peake

10. Saratoga style Jonathan Silverman

11. The Dubai connection Rachel Pagones

12. Racing in Asia Mark Godfrey

13. Global markets, changing technology: the future of the betting industry Mark Davies

14. Horseracing: local traditions and global connections Chris McConville.

About the editor

REBECCA CASSIDY is a professor of anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has written and edited a number of books on horseracing, animal domestication and gambling, including Horse People (2007) and Sport of Kings: Kinship, Class and Thoroughbred Breeding in Newmarket (2002). Rebecca is available for interviews, features and guest blogs.

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Dedicated to excellence, its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 300 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing. Playing a leading role in today's international market place, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world.