With Christmas approaching, many will be taking more than a cursory peek at the books available to add to our racing collections, which in truth are likely to have ceased expanding many years back.
There are various reasons for this. One of them glares at us in the form of the Tiger Roll book now on the market. Whether this fascinating animal lines up or not at Aintree next spring, the fact is that the final chapter of his career has yet to take place.
Of course, this is not the first time there has been a rush to claim the honours in getting a book into print on an equine subject. Ivor Herbert's first edition of his Red Rum book first appeared in 1974 , with three Grand Nationals left to compete in. Updated editions followed but the haste to be the first to get the foot in the door first lacked etiquette.
There were no updated editions on the otherwise excellent Jonathan Powell book paying tribute to that little terrier Monksfield. In what was apalling timing, the book was completed in late 1979 and released early 1980, before what could have been termed as the ' Sea Pigeon strikes back ' part played out.
Maybe the idea is that releasing these books when the subjects careers are still active will pull in a quick hit of sales, though I would guess the number of racing books sold has diminished in sync with genuine interest in the sport falling, and the gap between the number of books sold on the likes of football, cricket, and rugby, to that of horse racing, has widened further.
It has to be said too that over the last couple of decades it just ain't an even playing field for the authors of these books. Those turned out by the well oiled publication machine of the Racing Post have a significant head start on the others.
The blurb, often from Brough Scott. The in house review - let's face it, an in house reviewer is going to add a positive slant on an in house publication, even hyping up just a fairish offering into something of significance.
Thiry years back Michael Church produced a tad pricey but pleasant on the eye book under the Racing Post banner documenting the champion sires going back to the very beginning of the breed. Titled, Three Centuries Of Leading Sires 1721 - 1987, there was a limited edition of 500 published accompanied by a wall chart tracing back the sire lines.
While it was a useful for casual browsing, at the end of the day it comprised in the main of a list of champion sires with pedigrees and you would certainly not go as far to describe it as a publication to be ' celebrated ', as claimed by Tony Morris in his book review, who himself is not afraid to get critical to the bones, particularly when it comes to the indy publications.
On a brighter note, those of us who hold a copy will observe that anyone now wishing to get their hands on one will have to fork out at least £80.
With regards to what some may at one time have considered to be one of the great racing books, an obituary penned by Morris in 1994 brought something to light that would have previously only been known to a certain clan within the sport.
It is likely that a large number of racing fans who became smitten by the sport during the 1970 's would have read John Hislop's book, ' The Brigadier - The Story Of Brigadier Gerard ', and John Oaksey's, ' The Story Of Mill Reef '. You could not read one without the other, many would have read each presentation more than once.
Leaving aside which horse was the superior one, I would guess that the favoured book at the time would have been the Brigadier Gerard one, helped by the fact that it was written by the owner, meaning the reader was offered an insight into the planning and decisions taken during the mighty animal's career.
But the tier on which the publication stood in the mind might have dropped a couple of levels on reading Morris's frank assessment of Hislop in a summary of the man's life in the Racing Post after he passed away. This involved the reasoning behind Hislop sending his mare Lady Pavlova to Queens Hussar.
In an early chapter in the book Hislop had explained why, on his pedigree reading, he considered the stallion ideal for his mare and thus executed a masterpiece of a decision which produced one of the greatest horses of our time.
Morris concluded that Hislop got pure lucky. That Queens Hussar was chosen as a mate purely because he stood nearby and was cheap.
Reading this, you then start to view similar books with a cynical perspective. There exists a most enjoyable book to read about the dual Melbourne Cup winner Rising Fast, published many years ago, and written by the horse's owner Leicester Spring.
Problem is, this publication takes a similar path in the early stages to that of the Brigadier Gerard book. The author goes into extensive detail in what he gleaned from his pedigree analysis in the sales catalogue that led him to bid for the future star at a New Zealand yearling sale in 1950.
A further drawback with horse racing books in general are the omissions. What if we have been told something about someone from a trustworthy source then have to read a glossed over account?
Or what if we just suspect, as the nature of the sport and it's unbreakable tie with gambling will mean quite frankly that it sits at the top of all sports for both the percentage and aggregate of uncsrupulous persons.
One must undoubtedly conclude that pound for pound the biographies of the top achievers in the other major sports contain more factual meat on the bone than the racing ones - save of course the odd exception, such as the Richard Dunwoody book Obsessed, in which the man who came across as one of the most articulate and level headed members of the weighing room painted himself as a rather dislikeable, wife bullying nutcase.
So with overall adherence to truth and sincerity, searching outside of racing's bubble is more likely to produce a good read. I have recently finished a Richie Benaud book and have begun an old publication concerning the 1956 Suez Crisis.
I would then quite fancy picking up another Australian cricketers book, maybe someone playing in the 70's or 80's, though I am told that both the Frank McAvennie and Kevin Keegan books must be read. Andre Agassi's too sounds fascinating, while the golfing one that I keep saying I must read is Rich Beems.
As for racing, maybe it's safer to look only to the historical ones that escape the libel laws and whispers. Treasure Of The Bloodstock Breeders Review was a fine compilation of historical work that needs the white mould removing and re -reading.
Whatever, for many the height of the book buying season has arrived. And for the declining number of racing fans still alive, it may be time to look outside and appreciate the characters from some of the other, much more thriving sporting fields.
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