John Ellicott

Journalist John Ellicott spends a year traveling to far-flung corners of Australia attending various 'iconic' country horse racing meetings. From far north Queensland to rural Tasmania, and the dusty outback of Western Australia, he meets local characters, tries his luck on the punt and worries about whether he might be lost.
I found this an entertaining read, having been to a few of the places myself, and having wanted to visit most of the others.
Horse racing, in all Australian states is undergoing severe rationalisation. It could be that soon there will be very few country racetracks. Many of those described with such enthusiasm here would be among those to lose their status. So this book is important in that it looks into a soon-to-be-lost aspect of Australian culture and identity.
Those interested in modern Australian history, sport and sports history, and fans of horse racing will enjoy this easy to read book.… (mer)