The War on Wheels

Author: Justin McCurry
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643132814
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
Experience the thrilling world of Japanese cycling and the keirin, which has evolved from post-war oddity to one of Japan's most popular and lucrative sporting events—and a must-see for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. The Keirin, which means "war on wheels," is now a high profile Olympic sport and attracts millions of spectators. But it's origins are humble, even strange. Like the Tour de France was originally conceived to sell newspapers, the keirin was invented in post-war Japan as a way to raise taxes on gambling. Now, over $12 billion a year is wagered on it, and its stars are primed to millions. Unlike a traditional race, a pacemaker leads eight riders up to speeds of 70kph on huge concrete velodromes, then they fight to cross the line first, with riders pushing, shoving, and crashing in the final stretch. Long associated with the working class, even the notorious yakuza crime syndicates, riders today live in blacked-out dorms, with no access to technology, to prevent bet-rigging. Their lives are ruled by ritual and competition, from their rookie days at the Mt. Fuji training camp to elite competitions that are the Japanese equivalent of the Grand National. Foreign riders sometimes compete, but rarely prosper in this intense environment, and the Olympic version is a mere child's play to the fierce environs of the velodromes in Tokyo. and Osaka, where a spectre of danger still looms. The War on Wheels explores a side of Japan we rarely see and it's uniquely fascinating sporting culture.

Frankel

Author: Andrew Pennington
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781910498323
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description

Horse Racing Manual

Author: Tom Peacock
Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK
ISBN: 9781785211690
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Horse Racing Manual guides the reader through a first day at the races, explaining all the elements and considerations, from what to wear to placing a bet. Unlike other books on the market, it takes the reader further and goes ‘behind the scenes,’ providing explanations into the physiology of the horse and where it comes from, the processes and people involved in leading it to become a racehorse, the breeders, farriers, owners, trainers, jockeys and more.

Swindle (Swindle #1)

Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545457386
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
Ocean's 11 . . . with 11-year-olds, in a super stand-alone heist caper from Gordon Korman!After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue. This is Gordon Korman at his crowd-pleasing best, perfect for readers who like to hoot, howl, and heist.

Iced

Author: Felix Francis
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ISBN: 1639102930
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Book Description
In the tradition of Clive Cussler and James Lee Burke, Iced, the latest in Francis's fictional world, is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you racing to the next page. Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour. Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren’t as innocent as they seemed. When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they’ll go to any length to do it.

Racing Post Guide to the Jumps 2020-2021

Author: David Dew
Publisher: Racing Post Books
ISBN: 9781785318320
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Racing Post Guide to the Jumps is one of the key tools for racing enthusiasts and punters to look ahead to the upcoming National Hunt season. It includes exclusive interviews with the top jumps trainers, both in the UK and Ireland in which they discuss their teams and plans for their most exciting horses. It profiles 250 horses who are likely to be key players throughout the season and should be worth following. Plus it also unearths some likely unexposed 'dark horses' to follow that may be less well known. It also contains both Topspeed and Racing Post ratings. In full colour throughout, it is the one book that every jumps racing enthusiast should have.

No One Is Talking About This

Author: Patricia Lockwood
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593189604
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE & A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2021 WINNER OF THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE “A book that reads like a prose poem, at once sublime, profane, intimate, philosophical, witty and, eventually, deeply moving.” —New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice “Wow. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much reading a book. What an inventive and startling writer…I’m so glad I read this. I really think this book is remarkable.” —David Sedaris From "a formidably gifted writer" (The New York Times Book Review), a book that asks: Is there life after the internet? As this urgent, genre-defying book opens, a woman who has recently been elevated to prominence for her social media posts travels around the world to meet her adoring fans. She is overwhelmed by navigating the new language and etiquette of what she terms "the portal," where she grapples with an unshakable conviction that a vast chorus of voices is now dictating her thoughts. When existential threats--from climate change and economic precariousness to the rise of an unnamed dictator and an epidemic of loneliness--begin to loom, she posts her way deeper into the portal's void. An avalanche of images, details, and references accumulate to form a landscape that is post-sense, post-irony, post-everything. "Are we in hell?" the people of the portal ask themselves. "Are we all just going to keep doing this until we die?" Suddenly, two texts from her mother pierce the fray: "Something has gone wrong," and "How soon can you get here?" As real life and its stakes collide with the increasingly absurd antics of the portal, the woman confronts a world that seems to contain both an abundance of proof that there is goodness, empathy, and justice in the universe, and a deluge of evidence to the contrary. Fragmentary and omniscient, incisive and sincere, No One Is Talking About This is at once a love letter to the endless scroll and a profound, modern meditation on love, language, and human connection from a singular voice in American literature.

The Sure Thing

Author: Nick Townsend
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448136148
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Book Description
__________________ The bookies always win. But one man has been proving them wrong for four decades. In the summer of 1975 Barney Curley, a fearless and renowned gambler, masterminded one of the most spectacular gambles of all time with a racehorse called Yellow Sam. With a meticulous, entirely legal plan involving dozens of people, perfectly timed phone calls, sealed orders and months of preparation, Curley and Yellow Sam beat the bookmakers and cost them millions. They said that it could never happen again. But in May 2010, thirty-five years after his first coup, Curley staged the ultimate multi-million-pound-winning sequel. The Sure Thing tells the complete story of how he managed to organise the biggest gamble in racing history - and how he then followed up with yet another audacious scheme in January 2014.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Horse Racing

Author: Bill Mooney
Publisher: Carlton Books
ISBN: 9781780978215
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
An authoritative and comprehensive illustrated work of reference, which tells the story of the "sport of kings" from its earliest inception to the present day.

Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing

Author: John Oreovicz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781642340563
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
Tradition, technology, and personal bravery combined to make the Indianapolis 500 one of the world's most famous sporting events. However, political infighting within the industry--which climaxed with a 12-year "Split" from 1996 to 2007 between competing forms of Indy car racing--prevented the sport from achieving its potential. The Split seriously tarnished the reputation of the Indianapolis 500 and allowed NASCAR to become America's most popular form of motorsport. But Indy car racing's dysfunction didn't originate in 1996. The story begins in 1945, when a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana named Tony Hulman rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from potential redevelopment. Over the next 75 years, the Hulman-George family used the stature of the Speedway to carve out a powerful position in American auto racing. Stewardship of the IMS often brought the family into conflict with Indy car competitors. A volatile period in the late 1970s resulted in the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and tensions ramped up even more when Hulman's grandson, Tony George, assumed power in 1990. The Split forced Indy car fans, sponsors, broadcasters and participants to choose sides. It created confusion and animosity and caused tremendous damage to the sport. With negotiations driven by legendary racer Mario Andretti and actor/racer Paul Newman, The Split was finally resolved in 2008, only for George to walk away less than three years later from the role he so desperately coveted. The long struggle for stability and leadership was finally resolved in 2020 when Roger Penske acquired IMS and the IndyCar Series.