Customer Reviews

The New Treasury of Great Racing Stories

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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"?

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.