The New Treasury of Great Racing Stories [Hardcover]

Dick Francis (Editor), John Welcome (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1992

Francis and Welcome bring readers another richly entertaining collection of the best horse-racing stories by authors past and present. Here are selections from Damon Runyon, Molly Keane, Banjo Patterson, and others, as well as one selection each from Francis and Welcome.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most of the 14 tales collected here by British authors Francis ( Longshot ) and Welcome ( Grand National ) are notable for their charm. The two American entries, Damon Runyon's 1930s "Pick the Winner" and Gordon Grand's pre-WW I "A Night at the Old Bergen County Race Track," sustain their period appeal nicely. Welcome's "My First Winner," J. C. Squire's "The Dead Cert" and Molly Keane's "Pullinstown" are pure beguilement. The three bleakest stories are the best: Francis's "Spring Fever," about an aging, horse-owning widow infatuated with a not-quite-honest young jockey; C.C.L. Browne's "The Inside View," a deadpan, exciting tale of a steeplechaser's day; and Maurice Gee's "The Losers," a melodramatic, noir story with a large cast. Edgar Wallace's "The Man Who Shot The 'Favourite' " and A. B. (Banjo) Paterson's "The Oracle" are slightly humorous.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Following their first collection, The Dick Francis Treasury of Great Horseracing Stories ( LJ 11/1/90), the editors compile 11 British and three American horseracing stories, with authors as diverse as Damon Runyon, Francis himself, and various obscure writers--although the collection as a whole favors period pieces with a decidedly British twist. Four of the stories, J.C. Squire's "The Dead Cert," C.C.L. Browne's "The Inside View," Donn Byrne's "The Tale of the Gypsy Horse," and Colin Davy's "The Good Thing," present intriguing characters and storylines. For libraries with a strong short story or British fiction collection.
-Susan Hamburger, Virginia State Lib. & Archives, Richmond
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; First Amer edition edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393031020
• ISBN-13: 978-0393031027
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,429,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "Money Won From A Bookmaker Is Only Lent", January 17, 2012

By 

Don Reed "Don" (Cliffside Park NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Treasury of Great Racing Stories (Hardcover)

The New Treasury of Great Racing Stories, Dick Francis & John Welcome, Eds.; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. (1991)

Once having been a great fan of Dick Francis (1920-2010), somehow, this book was acquired, shelved & forgotten. The racing books piled up; too many disappointed. In the mix, TGRS was never read until recently, when The Culling was seriously undertaken (own too many books? You too?).

TGRS survived the cut, with honors. Especially notable is the hilarious "Occasional Licenses." I'd love to be able to tell you when it was written, for the English employed as presented is so archaic, one half-expected Gladstone to make an appearance (the authors "Somerville & Ross" were the cousins Edith Anna OEnone Somerville & Violet Martin; 1858-1949 & 1862-1915, respectively).

Also recommended is "The Man Who Shot The Favorite," by Edgar Wallace (1875-1932); "The Inside View" by C.C.L. Browne is superb; & "The Good Thing" by Colin Davy is not only very good, the ending somehow is believable - which is not the fate of "A Night at the Old Bergen County Race-Track" by Gordon Grand (the years of birth & death of Browne, Davy & Grand are unknown).

Must EVERY racing anthology include something from the grossly overpraised & undeserving Damon Runyon (1880-1946; subject of a stinker biography by Jimmy Breslin, also avoid). Seriously, if you want great writing about the Times Square sharps & con men of that era, read "The Jollity Building" in the masterpiece anthology, "Just Enough Liebling" (A.J. Liebling, North Point Press [Farrar, Straus & Giroux], 2004).

If you crave acceptance from assh***s, you'll sympathize with the narrator of "Pullinstown" (Molly Keane, 1905-96, wasted some very good writing exploring this dubious premise). And another well-written entry, "The Losers" by Maurice Gee (b. 1931; as of 01/17/12, the only author featured in TGRS who is still alive) is a brutal story about the inevitable corruption that festers at racetracks, regardless of the year, the decade or the century. Steel yourself if you so choose to read it.

I'm still trying to figure out why Francis & Welcome didn't bother to either list the years in which these stories first appeared, or whether or not they presented the stories in the chronological order of the years in which they were respectively first published.

They also flubbed the cardinal entertainment rule of "leaving on a high note."

The placement of Banjo Patterson's "The Oracle" (the racetrack "expert" who loudly knows nothing) as the final story leaves one flatter than a losing betting ticket, tossed away during a rainstorm after the last race on the card. If suspense had been desired as the final note, "The Tale of the Gypsy Horse" by Donn Byrne (1889-1928) would have been the story with which to end the book; if humor were to be the last taste intended, then why not sign off with the brilliant "Occasional Licenses"?

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, fast and furious, December 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Treasury of Great Racing Stories (Hardcover)

Dick Francis puts you in the midst of the action. Close your eyes and you are there, smelling the sweat, feeling the adrenalin and the rush of the wind as you hurtle over the fences onto the next adventure. Reading Dick Francis ensures the reader always comes away with a new found knowledge, whether it be photography, veterinary science, painting,skiing, .the list is endless. Once read, you will be chomping at the bit in anticipation of his next masterpiece.