Racing books with quality photos are even harder to track down.
But racing journalist and TV presenter Aidan Rodley has found a gap in the market and filled it admirably with his debut publication, Where Champions Are Born.
The 216-page hardcover book gives readers an insight into the world of breeding, an area of the racing industry which is often represented in print by screeds of small type in a sales catalogue.
This venture is a big departure from a garden-variety catalogue, however.
Rodley enlisted the help of leading equine photographer Trish Dunell and visited 17 breeding operations around New Zealand, including Otago's very own White Robe Lodge.
Rodley is at pains in his introduction to point out he could have included many other farms in the book, but his choices, which include Haunui Farm, Te Akau, Waikato, Cambridge, Pencarrow and Windsor Park among others, seem to make sense.
Each stud has a different story to tell of its genesis.
From the well-told yarn about Sir Patrick Hogan's punt on Sir Tristram to the background behind the highs and lows of Waikato Stud, even the most ardent of breeding followers should find something new to add to their knowledge bank from reading this book.
Indeed, even those Otago readers who have followed the White Robe Lodge story from the 1950s will pick up some fresh tidbits from Rodley and Dunell's time with Brian and Lorraine Anderton last year.
As a breeder himself, Rodley has a passion for what makes stud farms tick. But as a former racing editor of the Waikato Times, he is conscious of the need to retain the reader's interest.
He and designer Ken Emery have skilfully got the mix of photographs and words right.
This has resulted in a book which would be suitable for reading in the hammock or deck chair in summer or equally, flicking through on a chilly Wednesday between watching the races on TV.
• Where Champions Are Born is available at www.wherechampionsareborn.co.nz for $39.90.
• The Otago Daily Times has one copy of Where Champions Are Born to give away.
To enter, simply email your name and contact phone number to matt.smith@odt.co.nz or by post to Racing Department, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, Dunedin 9054. Entries close at 5pm on January 28.
