Flat Racing

When Gerry Cranham first approached me to write the text for the Guinness Book of Flat Racing I was delighted to accept. Cranham's standing as a photographer of the equine scene is paramount as anyone fortunate enough to have copies of the Guinness Guide to Steeplechasing or the Guinness Book of Steeplechasing, both written by Richard Pitman, will know. This companion volume has been many months in production in line with Cranham's insistence on the highest standards being maintained.
Gerry Cranham's library of racing pictures must be among the most extensive in the world and together we have chosen more than 300 colour and black and white photographs to illustrate this celebration of Flat racing. Gerry and his sons, Mark and Paul, have also taken many specific shots to accompany the text, an operation which has involved them in countless hours of work and thousands of miles of travel.
Although an old-established sport, racing is part of today's entertainment business. It is a substantial leisure industry from which more than 100,000 people earn their living directly or indirectly when studs, sales companies, the on- and off-course betting industries, marketing and catering and so on are taken into consideration. But, essentially, horseracing is about fun and a sense of occasion. Few people are unaffected by the sheer physical beauty of a racehorse in action. Few can shrug their shoulders in indifference at the excitement generated by a high-quality race in which jockeys and their mounts strain every muscle in a battle for transitory glory.
Gerry Cranham, perhaps as no other photographer, can capture that supreme moment with magnificent clarity and insight. The Guinness Book of Flat Racing is, first and foremost, a publication of outstanding pictures. I am thrilled to be associated with it and feel sure that you will be delighted to look at it time and time again.
Christopher Poole