A unique opportunity to acquire some of racing’s most collectable books
Racing historian Michael Church has built up a library of some of racing’s most collectable books – now, many of the books are available for sale
From setting himself up as the unofficial school bookmaker at the age of 11, via landing a job as accountant in 1986 at the newly launched Racing Post, to being the Official Derby Historian, Michael Church has been steeped in racing and racing history for over 70 years.
Not only has he written extensively on racing, including the histories of the Derby, Oaks and Eclipse Stakes, but has appeared numerous times on television, finally, building up an extensive collection of racing and bloodstock books.
Now, the opportunity arises to acquire some of Michael’s books as he scales down the size of his library – ranging from his own books to such classics as The Hon George Lambton’s Men and Horses I Have Known; John Hislop’s The Brigadier – The story of Brigadier Gerard, the 1894 Riding Recollections and Turf Stories by Henry Custance and Finishing Post, the 1960 autobiography of Charlie Smirke.
The titles available from Michael are listed below, and you should contact him at michael@michaelchurchracingbooks.com or telephone 07787 326 948.
Post and packing will be charged according to weight and destination.
Library collection books
Epsom Derby racecards 2000-2015
Sixteen racecards, no markings, all clean, well kept. Sold as one lot – £65
Men and Horses I Have Known – The Hon George Lambton
Very good condition, published 1924, 320 pages, 55 illustrations and indexed. Widely recognised as the finest autobiography in racing literature. Lambton was trainer to Lord Derby and trained the winners of 13 Classic races including Sansovino and Hyperion. A collectable volume, competitively priced at £40
Riding Recollections and Turf Stories – Henry Custance
Hardback, 304 pages, Illustrated, Published 1894, Good condition for age. Custance, rider of three Derby winners with inside tales of the Turf – Recommended – £40
Henry Chaplin – A Memoir
Hardback, 347 pages, illustrated, published 1926 Famous owner of Hermit (1867 Derby), jilted by the Pocket Venus – £30
Ascot: The History – Sean Magee
A full history of Ascot Racecourse.
Hardback, size 11″ x 9″, 418 pages, published 2002, fully illustrated, very good condition – £22
Favourite Racehorses – Timeform
The Origins Of Timeform – Analysis of the Greats – Tudor Minstrel, Abernant, Pinza, Sea Bird etc The book is then subdivided into Sprinters, Milers and Stayers. With a section on Arkle, Desert Orchid and Red Rum
Hardback, 369 pages, large format 12″ x 10″, fully illustrated, published 1997, very good condition- £20
- Offer: 20% off for any two or more of the above six listings
British Racing Prints 1700-1940 – Charles Lane
Hardback, 11″ x 8 1/2″, Published 1990, fully illustrated, very good condition – £25
Harry Hall’s Classic Winners 1838-1882 – Charles Lane
Hardback, 12″ x 9″, published 1990, fully illustrated, 132 pages, very good condition – £20
Peter Biegel’s Racing Pictures
One of racing’s foremost artist’s collection of painting and drawings, published 1983. Preserved in slipcase. Includes: Humble Duty and foal, Set Free, Grundy, Secretariat, Nijinsky, Ribot and Lester Piggott’s Derby winners. Also, many paintings of Cheltenham and the Grand National 160 pages, hardback.
A lovely book evoking many memories – £30
- Offer: 25% Off for any 2 of the above 3 books.
Bahram and The Aga Khan III – Peter Corbett
A detailed study of Bahram, the Triple Crown winner and the breeder of the winners of 17 Classic races.
Hardback, Signed and in excellent condition, 623 pages, published 2016 – £15
The Story of Mill Reef – John Oaksey
Winner of the Derby Stakes, Eclipse Stakes, ‘King George’ and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
Hardback, published 1974, 155 pages, 19 illustrations, indexed – £8
Bloodstock Breeding – Sir Charles Leicester – Revised by Howard Wright
A thorough examination of breeding racehorses.
Hardback, 505 pages, good condition, published 1983. fully indexed – £15
Typology of the Racehorse – Franco Varola
Fascinating book with theories of breeding.
Hardback, 141 pages, Illustrations and diagrams, published 1974 – £8
Thoroughbred Breeding – Mordaunt Miller
A light-hearted but informative survey of thoroughbred breeding. Miller examines some of the truths, half-truths and myths that surround the breeding of winners and, losers.
Hardback, 208 pages, good condition, illustrated and indexed – £8
Treasures of The Bloodstock Breeders’ Review
Compiled by Leo Rasmussen and Miles Napier. An abundance of turf stories.
Hardback, 692 pages, good condition, 80 photographs, indexed – £8
Pedigrees of Leading Winners 1912-1958 – Franklin E Birch
Pedigrees and race records of all the notable horses of that period, plus those in France, Italy and USA. Fully indexed with top ten Leading Sires tables for each year.
Hardback 43 +147 pages, published 1960. good condition.
A very useful book – £10
- Offer: 25% off for any 3 or more of the above 7 Books
The Kid – The story of Steve Cauthen – Pete Axthelm
A signed copy in good condition, hardback, published 1978, 265 pages – £6
Queen’s Jockey – Harry Carr
Interesting autobiography. Pub. 1966, hardback, good condition, 190 pages, 16 photographs – £8
Race of the Century: Grundy v Bustino – Christopher Hawkins
The story of an amazing track record, after which neither horse won again. Hardback, published 1976, 159 pages, 20 photographs, very good condition. A fine collector’s book – £25
Finishing Post – Charlie Smirke
The autobiography of the jockey who rode 11 Classic winners including four Derby winners
Hardback, very good condition, illustrated, 183 pages, published 1960 – £12
Yankee Doodle Dandy – John Dizikes
The Life and Times of Tod Sloan
Excellent condition, hardback, published 2000, 225 pages, illustrated and indexed – £14
- Deal on the above five books – 20% off for orders over £25
A Victorian Canvas: The Memoirs of William Powell Frith
The Life and Times of the painter of “The Derby Day”
Hardback, good condition, published 1957, 238 pages, 20 illustrations, indexed – £14
Lord Paramount of the Turf – Michael Seth-Smith
The Life and Times of Lord George Bentink 1802-1848. With insight into the Running Rein affair.
Signed by author, Hardback, good condition, published 1971, 170 pages, illustrated and indexed- £10
Twenty Great Horses – Roger Mortimer
Includes essays and photographs of Sceptre, Pretty Polly, The Tetrarch, Brown Jack, Hyperion, Blue Peter, Tudor Minstrel. Meld, Alycidon and many more.
Hardback, 10″ x 7 1/2″, good condition, 172 pages, published 1967 – £10
100 Greatest Racehorses – Julian Wilson
From Eclipse to Shergar, this book also covers the American greats and 29 National Hunt heroes.
Hardback, good condition, 255 pages, published 1987 – £10
Better Betting with a Decent Feller – Carl Chinn
The Social History of Bookmaking
Hardback, very good conditon, published 2004, 380 pages. Illustrated and indexed – £10
Old Q: The Rake of Piccadilly – Henry Blyth
A biography of the Fourth Duke of Queensberry.
Hardback, good condition, 250 pages, 28 illustrations, fully indexed – £8
Neck or Nothing – John Welcome
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Bob Sievier
Hardback, very good condition, published 1970, 285 pages, 16 illustrations, indexed – £8
Chancing It – Robert Matthews
The Laws of Chance and how they can work for you. A good read for gamblers
Hardback, very good condition, 290 pages, published 2016 – £7
Sports Trading on Betfair – Wayne Bailey
Profitable Betting Exchange Systems for Trading on Betfair and Betdaq.
Card cover, very good condition, 208 pages, pub. 2015 – £7
- Offer on any of the above nine books: 20% off for orders over £25
The Irish Derby 1866-1979 – Guy St John Williams and Francis P M Hyland
An excellent reference book, well kept, hard backed, illustrated, indexed and 424 pages – £10
Kentucky Derby Media Guide 1875 – 2002
Strong card cover, 11″ x 8 1/2″, 367 pages, illustrated, a detailed history of the race – £10
Lester Piggott: The Pictorial Biography – Julian Wilson
Has a bookplate signed by Lester, illustrated throughout, hardbacked, lists all Lester’s turf records, 175 pages, indexed – £10
The Brigadier: the story of Brigadier Gerard – John Hislop
An intimate story of one of the all-time great racehorses.
Full details of his pedigree and races run. Hardbacked, illustrated and indexed, 212 pages – £10
The Grey Horse: the true story of Desert Orchid – Richard Burridge
Hardback, 274 pages, good condition, illustrated and indexed – £8
The A-Z of the Grand National – John Cottrell and Marcus Armytage
The Official Guide to the World’s most famous Steeplechase. A wealth of information
Strong card cover, 576 pages, published 2008 – £8
Go Down to The Beaten – Chris Pitt – Foreword by Bob Champion
Tales of the Grand National from 1946 to 2010 – A great read.
Hardback, signed by Chris Pitt, 352 pages, published 2011, illustrated and fully indexed – £8
Vincent O’Brien: The Official Biography – Jacqueline O’Brien and Ivor Herbert
The background to his Derby and Grand National winners. Crammed full of illustrations, colour and black and white
A beautifully produced book – A treat to read
Hardback, very good condition, 320 pages – £22
- Offer: 25% off for any 3 or more of the above eight books
Books by Michael Church
The Derby Stakes 1780-2016: the Blue Ribbon of the Turf
This is Michael’s latest book, bringing the history of the premier Classic up-to-date.
Featuring 25 ‘Derby Winners of the Decade’, illustrations, race commentaries from 1918, analysis of Derby winning times, a comprehensive section on records, and an index of pedigrees and personalities.
The book has a luxury binding, with gilt edges, illustrated and indexed, 256 pages. Signed copies priced – £50.
The Oaks Stakes 1779-2015: The History – The Winners – Their Breeding
This is the first and only history of the Oaks Classic to be published, featuring: the Origins and Foundation of the race, the Equine Founding Fathers, pen pictures of the winning connections, essays on the famous winners and a records section, illustrations and indecies.
The book has a luxury binding, with all gilt edges, illustrated and indexed, 256 pages. Signed copies – £50
The Oaks Chart 1779-2017: the male lineage of every Epsom Oaks winner.
Printed in two colours on 250 GSM ‘Natural’ ParchMarque Plus, measuring 66 cm x 59.4 cm or 26″ x 23 1/2″ , the chart shows all the winners and dates won in green capitals. Champion Sires are shown with an asterisk either side of their name.
There are information boxes on the chart showing: Fastest Times, Longest and Shortest Winning Distances, Disqualifications, the size of Fields and First Prizes.
Illustrated with pictures of the Founding Fathers ie The Darley Arabian and Eclipse, The Byerley Turk, The Godolphin Arabian, also The Queen with Carrozza in 1959 and Enable, the fastest winner.
Limited Edition of 90 copies, numbered and signed – £60
- Special Offer: buy The Oaks book and the Oaks Chart for £90
The Derby Stakes 1780-1997
Michael has one signed and numbered copy of his first Derby book (607 pages) for sale from the sold-out edition of 1,314 copies.
Number 2 dedicated to Diomed (1780). Very good condition inside, front cover gold has faded. This is reflected in the price, but still an opportunity for a book collector – £65.
Dams of Classic Winners 1777-1993
Number 522 of 1101 dedicated to the dam of Watling Street (1942 Derby).
An excellent volume, inside and out with good gold edges. Each dam’s race record, number of foals and their achievements.
Analysis, illustrations and fully indexed – £90
The Classic Pedigree 1776-1989
Sold only as a signed limited edition of 1101 – each copy dedicated to a specific Classic winner, signed and numbered by the author. Includes the four-generation pedigrees and race record of every Classic winner, together with the winners of the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Also contains histories of the races, detailed pedigree analysis, 14 three-coloured charts showing the male descent of every winner. Fully Indexed.
De-luxe gold block binding, all edges gilt, 480 pages, size 10 x 7½”. This copy, in good condition for age, with slight ware on cover, is number 847 and dedicated to Satirist (St Leger winner of 1841) – £65
Eclipse: The Horse – The Race – The Awards
Published as a Limited Edition of 1250, the book covers the history of the Eclipse Stakes 1886-2000, the life and times of Eclipse 1764-1789 (ancestor of 97% of the world’s Thoroughbreds), and the Eclipse Awards 1971-1999. The book comprises 416 pages, 250 pictures, a deluxe binding with all gilt edges.
Number 326 of 1,250 this book is dedicated to the first dual Eclipse winner Orme 1892-1893 – £75 (RRP £87)
Also available in very good condition, number 422 dedicated to Swynford 1911 (St Leger and Champion Sire) – £70
Champion Sires 1722-2003
A pre-owned resentation copy. Essays, pedigree, race record and notable progeny of every Champion sire. Analysis, Illustrated and fully indexed, very good gold edges.
There is slight damage to title on front cover, this is reflected in the revised price – £40
Michael’s Charts
- Buy any two and receive 25% discount
The Oaks Chart 1779-2017: the male lineage of every Epsom Oaks winner.
Printed in two colours on 250 GSM ‘Natural’ ParchMarque Plus, measuring 66 cm x 59.4 cm or 26″ x 23½″ , the chart shows all the winners and dates won in green capitals. Champion Sires are shown with an asterisk either side of their name.
There are information boxes on the chart showing: Fastest Times, Longest and Shortest Winning Distances, Disqualifications, the size of Fields and First Prizes.
Illustrated with pictures of the Founding Fathers ie The Darley Arabian and Eclipse, The Byerley Turk, The Godolphin Arabian, also The Queen with Carrozza in 1959 and Enable, the fastest winner.
Limited Edition of 90 copies, numbered and signed – £60
The General Accident Two Thousand Guineas Chart 1809- 1985: The Male linage of every winner
Signed and printed in Green and Black on Natural ParchMarque. Bears the General Accident crest in gold. Size 53 cm x 44 cm, or 21” x 17”.
Rare now, never framed and in very good condition – £50.
The General Accident Two Thousand Guineas Chart 1809- 1984: The male llnage of every winner.
Signed copy printed in Red and Black on Natural ParchMarque. Size 53 cm x 44 cm, or 21” x 17”.
Clean copy, never framed and in very good condition – £40.
From the Racing Post’s Magnificent Seven Classic Winners series, published and sold out in 1992
The series has a limited edition of 80 for each of the seven and shows a sepia picture of horse and jockey at the centre, the Sires pedigree, hand-written above and the Dam’s below.
Number 1 of 80 of Brigadier Gerard, signed and numbered. Size 44 cm x 34 cm or 17” x 13”. Collectors piece, priced at £50
Magnificent Seven Series – published 1992 – Three signed presentation copies: Nijinsky, Shergar and Dancing Brave.
Very good condition –£60 for the three.
The Greyhound Derby Chart 1927-2010
Showing the male lineage of every winner, with a pictorial surround of past winners.
Printed in Red and Black on quality ParchMarque, size 71 x 55 cms, winners in red with sex, colour, date of birth and year won.
Signed and numbered, only three copies remain from a Limited Edition of 300 – £45
- All charts packed in a sturdy postal tube.
Michael’s Short Story books
Ripping Gambling Yarns: tales of a misspent youth
26 short stories, published 2001, 160 pages. Signed and illustrated – £10
Born to Bet: Further tales of a misspent youth
22 short stories, published 2003, 160 pages Signed and illustrated – £10
Black Horse – Red Dog: gambling yarns from Michael’s family
21 short stories, published 2008, d/w, 174 pages. Signed and illustrated – £10
The Gambling Adventures of Father Green – Michael’s fictional account of his Catholic Priest
18 short stories, published 2010., d/w, 160 pages. Signed and illustrated – £10
- All four – £30
Books on the Greyhound: Greyhound Racing and Coursing
The Book of the Greyhound – Edward C Ash
The foundation of every greyhound library
Published 1933, hardbacked, 351 pages, fully illustrated and in good condition.
A rare book that studies the history and changes to the greyhound from early Egyptian times to Coursing and greyhound racing.
Competitively priced at £125
The Greyhound Derby Chart 1927-2010
Showing the male lineage of every winner, with a pictorial surround of past winners.
Michael has the last three signed and numbered copies from an otherwise sold-out edition of 300.
Printed in Red and Black on quality parchmarque, size 71 x 55 cms, winners in red with sex, colour, date of birth and year won.
£50 each
The NGRC’s Complete History of the Sport
Hardback, very good dust wrapper, 342 pages, published 1990. Illustrated and indexed – £10
The Greyhound – H Edwards Clarke
Hardback, very good dust wrapper, 208 pages, published 1973, well-illustrated, full of interesting articles and indexed – £8
George Curtis: Training Greyhounds
A fascinating book from the trainer of Ballyregan Bob, with interesting articles on training greyhounds.
Hardback, good dust wrapper, 220 pages, published 1987. Illustrated and complete racing record of Ballyregan Bob and Yankee Express -£8.
Ger McKenna on Greyhounds – John Martin
The racing life and experiences of top trainer Ger McKenna.
Hardback, very good dust wrapper, 160 pages, illustrated and published 1989 – £6.
When West Ham went to the Dogs – Brian Belton
A thoroughly entertaining book on racing at West Ham, strong card backed, 129 pages, fully illustrated and published 2002 – £6.
Greyhounds – Roy Genders
A nice little book only 6″ x 4″ hardback, 64 pages, illustrated – £5.
The Waterloo Cup – Charles Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott
The First 150 years of that major sporting event. Details of the winners of the Cup, Purse and Plate. A major history book on a lost sport
Large size format 12″ x 8″, Green buckram cover, 160 pages, illustrated and Indexed.Published in 1987 – £20
British Rural Sports – First Edition – published 1855
by Stonehenge (alias John Henry Walsh 1810-1888)
Excellent condition, 720 pages with sections on Horseracing and Coursing, showing many pedigrees of horses and greyhounds. Includes numerous engravings, with sections on shooting, hunting, fishing and yachting.
Beautifully rebound in green buckram – £48
