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

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.

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.

The State of Illegal Betting Report

Author: Asian Racing Federation Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime
Publisher: Asian Racing Federation
ISBN:
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
The Asian Racing Federation Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime (“the ARF Council”) released in May a new publication: “The State of Illegal Betting”. The State of Illegal Betting report examines the current situation of illegal betting, what this means in relation to legal betting, and what both will look like in the future. The report includes analysis of more than 500 betting websites to examine their licensing status, products offered, website traffic, server locations and other data points. The report also includes a series of commentaries from ARF Council members on how sports data can fuel illegal betting; the greater negative impacts of illegal betting and gambling-related harm; international and intergovernmental issues around corruption in sport; and notable examples and development in sports law in relation to illegal betting. The report also includes contributions from INTERPOL and the UNODC regarding their views on the relationship between illegal betting, sports corruption, and organised crime.

Legends of the Track

Author: Alan Whiticker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1923009168
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Book Description
In Legends of the Track: Australia's champion jockeys and trainers, best-selling author Alan Whiticker tells the stories of 25 modern-era horse racing greats.This book celebrates the careers of champions trainers such as Bart Cummings, Tommy Smith, Colin Hayes, Gai Waterhouse, Lee Freedman and Chris Waller, and features interviews with the best jockeys of the modern era - Ron Quinton, Darren Beadman, Shane Dye, Hugh Bowman, Damien Oliver, Glen Boss and James McDonald.With full career statistics for each chapter and dozens of rare photos, Legends of the Track details the greatest achievements in a wonderful sporting era of Australian horse racing.

Sport and Brexit

Author: Jacob Kornbeck
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000536602
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
This is the first book to investigate the significance of Brexit for sport, with a particular focus on the regulatory and legal challenges that it poses, and the economic and political stresses that are likely to follow in its wake. Written by a team of leading researchers working across sport studies, legal studies and political science, and edited by an EU official with nearly two decades of experience working in EU sport policy, the book explains why regulation, and European dis-integration, matter to sport. It examines key topics including free movement, state aid and labour law, and considers the interests of key stakeholders from fans to football clubs to governing bodies. This is an essential reference for any advanced student, researcher, policy maker, administrator or industry professional working in sport, international law, political science, or international business and management.

Mark Johnston: Phenomenon

Author: Nick Townsend
Publisher: Headline Welbeck Non-Fiction
ISBN: 1787398862
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 457

Book Description
A new, fully authorised biography of the most successful trainer in British horse racing history. In the stratified and often secretive world of racehorse training, Mark Johnston has always been different: forthright, combative, provocative, and candid – a man who delights in questioning convention. Over more than three decades, he has gone from being a vet from a thoroughly working-class Scottish background to, mathematically, the most successful trainer in the history of British horse racing. In this new, fully authorised biography, acclaimed author Nick Townsend provides a unique insight into the world of Mark Johnston and his phenomenally successful operation. With unparalleled access to Mark and those closest to him, Mark Johnston: Phenomenon will dig into his storied career, his strong and passionate views on the sport of horse racing, and how he's planning for the future in unprecedented times, offering a fascinating portrait of one of horse racing's most singular figures.

The History and Politics of Motor Racing

Author: Damion Sturm
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031228251
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 780

Book Description
This book explores the history and politics of motor racing, one of the most popular and lucrative elements in the international sport industry. Written by a group of international scholars and motor racing specialists it discusses the sport’s origins, the relationship of motor racing to nation building and modernity (noting its links to fascism and dictatorship), the links between motor racing and the automobile industry, motor racing and the politics both of gender and of race, motor racing, the media and postmodernity, and motor racing, the spatial and globalization. This book speaks to scholars in history, politics, sport studies, the sociology of sport, sport management and cultural studies, along with the many lay readers who are interested in the relationship between motor sport and society.

The Football Pools and the British Working Class

Author: Keith Laybourn
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000623890
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
This book is the first national study of the football pools in Britain which examines the politics and culture of the gambling on the football pools. It charts the rise of the football pools, focusing upon its rapid growth from the 1920s and its prolonged decline in British culture from the 1990s, partly as a result of the National Lottery. The book explores how this new gambling activity became a significant leisure opportunity for the working class - a way to feel that the individual skill of the punter could lead to the winning of some life-changing jackpot cheque being presented by a sporting personality of celebrity. Dominated by Littlewoods, and other large commercial companies, the weekly filling-in of the coupons was considered to be a safe form of investment, guaranteed by the integrity of the pool companies, rather than some seedy gambling operation. The Football Pools and the British Working Class looks at different elements of the football pools from what attracted people to this form of gambling to how the industry developed and adjusted to the suspension of the football fixtures in 1936, and the bad winter of 1962-3. Above all, it examines the deep hostility that surrounded the filling in of the football pools arising from the National Anti-Gambling League, religious groups, the football authorities and MPs. This book will appeal to all those interested in the history of British football and 20th century British working class culture.