Still Going After All These Years: Text, Truth and the Racing Calendar

摘要

The Racing Calendar, the 'bible' of the British turf, is one of the longest continuous series of sporting records in the world. Yet it is unlikely to receive the widespread recognition it deserves as a sporting text because it reflects a relatively minor sport in twenty-first century terms. This article will briefly outline its history, analyse its contents and attempt to evaluate its worth to historians of sport. Its reliability as a source will be scrutinised in the light of current debate, and the information it can supply with regard to gender and racing abroad will be assessed.