THOROUGHBRED & QUARTER HORSE REFERENCE BOOKS: Bibliography

The pursuit of fine old & rare used reference books on horses can be quite an exciting adventure, and very rewarding! As a collector since 1966, I have come to greatly appreciate the value of these books. And, as a buyer and seller of these books since 1970, I realize that the condition of the books, as well as the quality of content, is as important to the buyer as is the cost. In order to serve you well, you'll be purchasing from someone who has read and reread all of these books, and used these titles extensively in research for well over 25 years. As a published author, my concerns are how useful a book will be to the end user. These books are my passion! Even with the advent of some of the research material available now on CD, it is still very satisfying to look at a nice collection of books on a shelf.

When you inquire about a certain title, be confident that you will get an accurate description of the book, along with a general opinion as to its usefulness for your needs. Many titles are deceiving; it’s hard to tell what their contents are. The title, "Horse-Breeders' Handbook", by Jos. Osborne, is one that is deceiving as to what it contains. This title would lead you to believe this is a book on breeding and maintenance. In fact, it's much more than that. Each volume is a very extensive collection of English Thoroughbred stallion pedigrees, giving 8 generations of ancestors, along with text regarding race and sire statistics on each stallion. I can save you a lot of time, trouble, and money by giving you an accurate description of any particular books of interest to you. Just ask. If your interest is in Quarter Horse & Thoroughbred pedigrees, racing & historical information, and statistical reference books, you've found the right place! It is my sincerest hope to help you find the books you are looking for!

I strive to buy only books in top condition. No one hates it more than I to open up a book to find someone has underlined every passage, a child has scribbled all over it, or someone has stamped their name all over the book! Only the very rare copies are tolerated with this sort of defacing…ones that can't be found in any better condition anywhere. The same is true of ex-library books. Some are horribly worn, with library stamps and pockets all over the place. Another condition I despise are rare books with the plates removed. These less-than copies I avoid if at all possible. I actively pursue original books with nice dust jackets (if issued with one) still intact; these are at a premium. This is an important factor in the price of a book. If the book was issued with a dust jacket, and is without one now, its value is far less, and is so discounted. Also, please research the prices on in-print books before buying them from a used book dealer or from an online auction...I see so many people paying way more than retail for some of these books and/or buying from someone who knows nothing about the book! Amazon.com sells many in-print horse books at very reasonable prices, often at less than the issue price.

If you're building a library, please pay careful attention to the conditions of the books, as the value of your library in the long run will be well worth your careful selections.

Below is an outline to guide you in your pursuit of fine horse books. The following books, most from my personal library, are grouped into categories, depending on your area of interest. The books within your categories of interest should be actively pursued, and belong in your library. They are classics in their particular fields, and/or are very useful for research purposes. This listing may also serve as a short bibliography of "what's out there", in case you didn't know a particular title existed. Interesting statistics are also shown on select titles. More books and descriptions will be included as time goes on, and as I add to my own collection.

Allison, William - The British Thoroughbred Horse, his history and breeding together with an exposition of the figure system. Grant Richards, 1901. 360 p, 11 pl, illus. (Loder 414)

Bayliss, M. F. - The Matriarchy of the American Turf, 1875-1930. Privately printed for Robert F. Gerry. Many plates, with tissue guards. Female ascendancy charts, stakes races won. 468 p. Foreword by Robert F. Gerry.

Becker, Friedrich L. - The Breed of the Racehorse, Its Developments and Transformations. Published 1936, The British Bloodstock Agency. 268 pages, 2 folding charts, 1 plate. Illus. Loder 416.

Becker, Friedrich L. - Charts of the Successful Sire Lines, and a comprehensive index showing the tail male descent of the chief winning broodmares covering the period from 1700-1914. Sporting Life, 1915, London. 39p., 14 charts.

Becker, Friedrich L. - The Successful Female Lines in the Breeding of the Thoroughbred Horse, Rademacher, Hamburg, Germany, 1922. 162p, tables, with supplement.

Birch, F. L. & Franklin Edwin Birch - Pedigrees of Leading Winners. Thoroughbred Breeders Association, London. Volumes published include "Pedigrees of 150 Leading Winners 1912-1925" (F. L. Birch), "Pedigrees of 400 Leading Winners 1912-1946" (F. L. & F. E. Birch), "Pedigrees of Leading Winners 1947-1953" (F. E. Birch).

Blood-Horse, The - Sires of American Thoroughbreds, compiled and published by The Blood-Horse, Lexington, KY, 1968. 275 p, containing the pedigrees of approx. 19,000 stallions. Various editions were published, beginning in 1935, another in 1951, each updating the list of horses to that point.

Blood-Horse, The - Dams of Stakes Winners 1932-1969, comp. and pub. by The Blood-Horse, Lexington, KY, 1970. 772 p, w/ 67p index to horses and dams.

Blood-Horse, The - The Blood-Horse Stallion Registers, annual publication. Lexington, KY.

Blood-Horse, The - Thoroughbred Sires & Dams/Thoroughbred Broodmare Records, Lexington, KY. An annual publication, with the first volume covering five years (1935-1939), and called "Thoroughbred Broodmare Records." Annual volumes were published thereafter, under the name of "Thoroughbred Sires and Dams", for 18 years, 1940-1957, inclusive. Beginning with the 1958 edition the sire section was dropped, and the name reverted to its original and current title of "Thoroughbred Broodmare Records." Produced in leather and buckram.

Bloodstock Research & Statistical Bureau - American Produce Records, 1920- . Was issued in hard bound for 1930-1972 10 vol. set; also issued in polished red calf leather in 10 volumes for 1930-1971; in 12 binders thereafter. Now issued on CD-ROM.

Bobinski, Kazimierz - Family Tables of Racehorses, Zamoyski, 1953, London. Latched briefcase folio; fold out tables, with separate index and supplements.

British Bloodstock Agency - Bloodstock Breeders Review, began with the 1912 volume. Was a quarterly 1912-1918; annual 1919 to date. London.

Bruce, Sanders D. - American Stud Book, (Vols. 1-6); The Jockey Club (Vols. 7 to present). Starting with Vol. 23, issued in two parts, and continuing until the present time. Each volume contains four years of produce for each mare. Foal supplements were published in the "off" years, beginning in 1915 (?), which included the appendix horses.

Bruce, Sanders D. - The Horse-Breeder's Guide and Hand Book, containing 100 tabulated pedigrees of the principal sires, with performance and get records, covering the season of 1883, "with a few of the distinguised dead ones." Turf, Field and Farm, NY, 1883. 205 p.

Bruce, Sanders D. - The Thoroughbred Horse, His Origin, How to Breed, and How to Select Him. With the Horse Breeders' Guide. Embracing One Hundred Tabulated Pedigrees of the Principal Sires, With Full Performances of Each and Best of Their Get, Covering the Season of 1892. Turf, Field and Farm, NY, 1892. 316 pages.

Brunell, Frank H. - Racing Form. Daily Racing Form, Chicago. 1900-1924. A special edition was started in 1898. Charts of American Racing, with index.

Canadian Thoroughbred Breeders Society, The - The Yearbook of Canadian Thoroughbreds, annual publication.

Courses et Elevage - Racing and Breeding, European Review. Published in Paris, France, 1947- . 3 publications per year. various volumes.

Dawkins, George H. - Present Day Sires and the Figure System. 150 pedigrees of horses now at stud. Cox, London, 1897. 152 p.

De Biase, A. - The Development of Successful Thoroughbred Sire Lines in England & France, Italy, 1961. In green leatherette binder, as issued.

Estes, J. A. - Thoroughbred Pedigrees, 1934. Tabulated pedigrees of important stallions at stud in the United States. ATBA, Lexington, KY, 1935. 64 p.

Genessee Valley Breeders Association - The Half-Bred Stud Book. 1925- . Founded under the authority of the Jockey Club. American Remount Association published Vol. 3.

Good, Meyrick, and John Betts - Winners For…various years, beginning with 1945.

Haggin, James B. - Catalogue of Stallions and Brood Mares at the Elmendorf Stud, Lexington, KY, Property of James B. Haggin. 1905. 406 p.

Haggin, James B. - Thoroughbreds at Rancho Del Paso, property of James B. Haggin, 1903, 1905. California. 1903 is 595 p. Extended pedigrees of Thoroughbreds owned by James B. Haggin at Sacramento, CA; gives extended female lines on each horse.

Harrison, Fairfax - Early American Turf Stock, 1730-1830. Being a Critical Study of the Extant Evidence for the English, Spanish, and Oriental Horses and Mares to Which Are Traced the Oldest American Turf Pedigrees. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1934-5, VA. In two volumes; volume one is mares, volume two is horses. Illus.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Background of the American Stud Book. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1933, VA. 121 p; pl.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Belair Stud 1747-1761. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1929, VA. 102 p.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Equine F. F. V.'s, A study of the evidence for the English horses imported into Virginia before the Revolution. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1928, VA. 184 p, w/bibliography.

Harrison, Fairfax - The John's Island Stud (South Carolina), 1750-1788. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, VA, 1931. 236 pages; illus; map; bibliography.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Roanoke Stud 1795-1833. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, Richmond, VA. 1930. 244 pages, plates, bibliography.

The Successful Running & Sire Lines of the Modern Thoroughbred, Sir William Herries, 1921. Published by the British Bloodstock Agency. Oblong format; 175 pages. The sire lines are shown in a series of tables, beginning in 1860.

Jerdein & Kaye - Thoroughbred Bloodlines. Published in 1955, J. A. Allen, London. 351 pages. British Thoroughbred female lines. The authors selected 50 mares, which can be called "classic" foundation mares, and divided them into three groups. 39 secondary families are also covered in a fourth group, with 58 families in a fifth group. A total of 7,889 mares in the five groups representing over 90% of mares shown as alive and in the stud in Vol. XXXII of the General Stud Book. Not illus. With index.

Johnstone, Andrew - Keylock's Dams of Winners of All Flat Races in Great Britain and Ireland, Knapp, 1955. Pub. in three series:
First Series: First edition, 1915-1937; Second edition, 1915-1944; Third (Augmented) edition, 1915-1947.
Second Series: First edition, 1948 & 1949; Second edition 1948-1952; Third edition, 1948-1954; Fourth edition, 1948-1956.
Third Series: First edition, 1957-1959; Second edition, 1957-1961; Third edition, 1957-1964.

La Boyteaux, William H. - Thoroughbred Pedigree Charts, Stakes Winners 1915-1936. Pub. 1937. In two volumes.

Leicester, Sir Charles - Bloodstock Breeding, Odhams Press, 1957. 484 p, 17 pl; illus. First 11 chapters give a theoretical and practical survey of bloodstock breeding; the remaining 14 chapters are historical. (Loder 435)

Mayorga, Jorge - Pedigrees de los Principales Ganadores, 1910-1962. Pedigrees of principal winners in Argentina.

Meek, C. F. U. - Winners of the Past and Their Breeding, Together With Statistics Relative to the Figure System of Bruce Lowe. Pub. by the International Horse Agency & Exchange, London, 1907. 303 p; illus; tables (part fold).

Merry, Thomas B. "Hidalgo" - The American Thoroughbred. Los Angeles, Commercial Printing, 1905. 244 p. Chapters include, The Origin of the Thoroughbred; The Three Cardinal Lines; The Modern British Thoroughbred; The American Thoroughbred (Imported Sires, Native Sires, Native Mares, etc.); The French Thoroughbred; The Austro-Hungarian Thoroughbred; The Australian Thoroughbred, etc. Pedigrees.

Palmer, Joe - Names in Pedigrees, pub. by The Blood-Horse, Lexington, KY. 1939. 462 p; illus. A compilation of articles published in the weekly issues of The Blood-Horse. Each horse has it's own chapter, pedigree, race record, and history.

Prior, C. M. - Early Records of the Thoroughbred Horse, The Sportsman, 1924. Containing reproductions of some original stud books and other papers of the 18th century; Contains the stud books of Mr. Cuthbert Routh, the Duke of Ancaster, the Duke of Newcastle, and the 2nd Duke of Devonshire's Tryal Book; collected and edited by C. M. Prior. 172 p. (Loder 412)

Prior, F. M. - Register of Thoroughbred Stallions. First volume was pub. in 1910. Vol. 2 was 1913, next was 1915, etc. Containing the tabulated pedigrees and racing performances of sires at stud for the specified year. Turf Newspapers, London. Gives Bruce Lowe family numbers on each horse in the 5-generation pedigree. Very useful reference set.

Prior, F. M. - The Half-Bred Stud Book. A register of the pedigrees & performance of the best known racehorses, racing under both Jockey Club & National Hunt Rules, which are ineligible for entry in the General Stud Book. Pub. by The Sportsman Office, 1914-1934. 8 volumes. Loder 537.

Ruff - Ruff's Guide to the Turf. 1842- . Complete record of racing under Jockey Club and National Hunt Rules in Great Britain and Ireland, with historical statistical information.

Scrope, Alexandra - Bend Or Graded and Group Winners, North America, Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Italy; published by The Blood-Horse. 1973-1988, 1989-1990, 1989-1994. 4-generation pedigrees, fully indexed. The 1989-1990 edition has an index to the sires of broodmares.

Sharp, J. F. Mainwaring - The Thoroughbred Mares' Record, 1850-1928, Galopin Press, 1929. Showing the female ascendancy and giving racing performances of the progeny of 2,670 mares, tracing back to Eclipse, Herod and Matchem; also the pedigrees and winnings of principal sires since 1850. 566 p, 33 pl; illus. Dk blue leather binding. (Loder 533)

Shirai, Toru - Family Tables of Racehorses, Vol. III, with index; 1990; update to Bobinski's Family Tables of Racehorses Vol. I and II.

Stringfield, John K. & W. S. Barnes - The Melbourne Stud 1901, Souvenir Catalogue of the Thoroughbreds Belonging to the Melbourne Stud, the Property of William S. Barnes, Lexington, KY. 252 p; illus.

Taunton, Theodore - Famous Horses, with portraits, pedigrees, principal performances, description of races, and various interesting items extending over a period of nearly two centuries. London, Low. 1895. 396 p, illus; tables. Loder 844.

Templer, Richard C. - Sires of Winners, London, 1949. The stallion side of breeding and racing. Foreword by the Duke of Norfolk. Several volumes (1949, 1949-1956, 1957)

Thoroughbred Record - Thoroughbred Record Stallion Registers/Statistical Reviews, annual publications. Lexington, KY.

Treacy & Walker - American Thoroughbred Stallion Register, Containing tabulated pedigrees, performances, and other family data of stallions doing service in the U. S. and Canada. Also, tabulated pedigrees of stallions, the property of the Breeding Bureau of the Jockey Club, information about the Bruce Lowe figure system and other matters pertaining to turf history. In two volumes, 1921, 1925

Triangle Publications - Daily Racing Form Chart Books, monthly publication, 1925 to date.

Varola, Franco - Typology of the Racehorse, pub. by J. A. Allen, London; 1974. 242 p, with photos and charts.

Walker, William Hall - Stallion Register 1904, compiled and edited for private circulation. Liverpool, England. Fully tabulated 5-generation pedigrees of 320 sires, and short pedigrees of 367 others; full index. 362 pgs.

Wall, John F. - Thoroughbred Bloodlines, in 2 volumes. Vol. 2 is a huge, oversized folio of male and female line charts, similar in content to Bobinski's Family Tables of Racehorses

The British Racehorse, quarterly magazine publication, now called The European Racehorse. 1949. London.

The Godolphin Arabian, The Story of the Matchem Line, by Mordaunt Milner. Pub. by J. A. Allen, London, 1990. 150 p., with index, and photos.

Treasures of the Bloodstock Breeders Review, Napier & Rasmussen. Published by J. A. Allen, London.

Anderson, J. D. - Making the American Thoroughbred, Especially in Tennessee.

Bland, Ernest - Flat Racing since 1900. Foreword by the Earl of Rosebery. Published in London, Dakers, 1950. 339 p; illus; tables.

Blood-Horse, The - Five Years of Speed 1945-1949, with supplement covering the first six months of 1950. Pub. by The Blood-Horse, 1950. 50p.

Bowen, Edward L. - Dynasties: Great Thoroughbred Stallions, published by Eclipse Press (The Blood-Horse), 2000. 296 pgs.

Bowen, Edward L. - Matriarchs: Great Mares of the 20th Century, published by Eclipse Press (The Blood-Horse).

Bowmar, Dan III - Giants of the Turf, foreword by C. V. Whitney. Published by The Blood-Horse, Lexington, KY, 1960. 224 pages, with index. The Alexanders, The Whitneys, The Belmonts, J. R. Keene, etc. Many photos.

Craig, Dennis - Horse Racing, The Breeding of Thoroughbreds and a Short History of the English Turf. Pub. by J. A. Allen, London, 1949. 192 pgs, with index. Photos.

CTBA - Thoroughbred of California/The California Thoroughbred, published by The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Arcadia, CA. Monthly publication.

Daily Racing Form - American Racing Manual. Annual publication, 1925 to date.

Davis, John - The American Turf. History of the Thoroughbred, with personal reminiscences by the author, who was a jockey, trainer, and owner. Polhemus, NY. 1907. 183 pages.

Fleming, Mary - The History of the Thoroughbred in California. California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

Fletcher, J. S. - The History of the St. Leger Stakes, 1776-1926, Hutchinson, London, 1926(?). 400 pgs, illustrated.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Background of the American Stud Book. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1933, VA. 121 pages; plates.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Belair Stud 1747-1761. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, 1929, VA. 102 pgs.

Harrison, Fairfax - The John's Island Stud (South Carolina), 1750-1788. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, VA, 1931. 236 pages; illus; map; bibliography.

Harrison, Fairfax - The Roanoke Stud 1795-1833. Privately printed, Old Dominion Press, Richmond, VA. 1930. 244 pgs, plates, bibliography.

Herbert, Henry W. - Frank Forester's Horse and Horsemanship of the United States and British Provinces of North America, Stringer, NY, 1857. In two volumes. Illustrated with steel engravings of Original Portraits of Celebrated Horses.

Hervey, John L. - Racing In America 1665-1865, written for The Jockey Club. New York, 1944. 2 vols.

Hervey, John L. - Racing In America 1922-1936, written for The Jockey Club. New York, 1937. 293 pgs; plates.

Hewitt, Abram S. - The Great Breeders and Their Methods, published by Thoroughbred Publishers, Lexington, KY, 1982. 390 pages, illus; charts. Index to the many photographs.

Hirsch - The First Century, Daily Racing Form Chronicles the First 100 Years in Racing.

Lenoir, J. M. - Famous Thoroughbreds I Have Known. Pub. Borden Publishing Co., Los Angeles, 1953. Illus. 242 pgs, with index to horses, personalities, and events.

May, Hal - Elements of Speed, soft cover, 177 pgs. Sire lines, some QHs; many photos. Privately published.

Menke - Down the Stretch, the Story of Col. Matt J. Winn, as told to Frank G. Menke. Smith & Durrell, NY, 1945. Illus. 299 pages. Condensed charts of the Kentucky Derby.

Newman, Neil - Famous Horses of the American Turf, in three volumes. Published by Derrydale Press.

Prior - The Royal Studs of the XVIth and XVIIIth Centuries. 1576-1650, Together with a Reproduction of the Second Earl of Godolphin's Stud-book, and sundry other papers relating to the Thoroughbred Horse. 213 pgs, with index to persons; index to horses. Horse & Hound Publications, 1935. 11 illus.

Robertson, William H. P. - The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America. 1964.

Varola, Franco - Typology of the Racehorse, Published by J. A. Allen, London; 1974. 242 pages, with photos and charts.

Wyndham, H. A. - The Early History of the Thoroughbred Horse in South Africa. Pub. Humphrey Milford, Oxford Univ. Press, 1924. 275 pgs; index, illus., pedigree charts.

Arcaro, G. E. - I Ride to Win, as told to Jack O'Hara. Greenberg, NY, 1951. 273 pgs.

Browne, T. H. - History of the English Turf, 1904-1930, Virtue, London, 1931.

Burch, Preston M. - Training Thoroughbred Horses, The Blood-Horse, 1953. Illus. 130 pgs; index.

Gittings, David S. - Maryland and the Thoroughbred, Hoffman, Baltimore, 1932. Maryland Horse Breeders Association. 148 pages; illus.

Hildreth, Samuel C. - The Spell of the Turf, The Story of American Racing. Pub. by Lippincott, Philadelphia, PA, 1926. 286 pgs, illustrated.

Kiernan, Thomas - The Secretariat Factor, The Story of a Miltimillion -dollar Breeding Industry. Doubleday, 1979. 204 pgs; illus.

Shoemaker, Bill & Barney Nagler - Shoemaker, America's Greatest Jockey. Doubleday, NY, 1988. 268 pages; illus.

American Quarter Horse Association - AQHA Stud Book & Registry, American Quarter Horse Association, Ft. Worth, afterwards Amarillo, TX. In 56 volumes. Originally, first 4 volumes were soft cover. Later, the first 5 vols. were combined into one book, and vols. 6 thru 10 were combined in another. Vols. 11 and 12 were also published in a combined format, and 13 and 14 were also. 15 through 56 were individual hard bound volumes.

American Quarter Horse Association - The Quarter Running Horse Chart Book, AQHA. Monthly publication, with annual supplement.

Dehnardt, Robert M. - The Quarter Running Horse, America's Oldest Breed, University of Oklahoma Press, 1979. 302 pages, with illus. Index.

Denhardt, Robert M. - Quarter Horses - A Story of Two Centuries, published by University of Oklahoma Press, 1967. 192 pages; illus.

Denhardt, Robert M. - The Quarter Horse, in 3 volumes. AQHA, later reprint by Univ. of Oklahoma Press.

Equine Research Publications - Quarter Horse Reference/Quarter Racing Digest, 1972-1980. Ed. By Don Wagoner.

Haskell, Melville - The Quarter Running Horse, American Quarter Racing Association.

Larkin, Susan - Thoroughbred Sires of Quarter Horses, in five volumes. First published 1992. 6-generation pedigrees. Illus.

Lindeman, M. H. - The Quarter Horse Breeder. Volume 1 (only volume published). Basic Text and Reference on the American Quarter Horse, published by Humphrey Printing Co., Wichita Falls, TX, 1959. 216 pages.

McBryde, Jack - The National Quarter Horses. Self-published, 1998, Houston, TX.

Muse, Barbara - The Grand Twenty, (later published as The Saga of the American Quarter Horse), Barbara Muse (Huntington)

National Quarter Horse Breeders Association - NQHBA Permanent Stud Book, in 2 volumes

Nye, Nelson C. - The Complete Book of the Quarter Horse, published by A. S. Barnes, 1964. 471 pages; illus; index.

Nye, Nelson C. - Champions of the Quarter Tracks. A practical study, a reference book and breeding guide, and an illustrated biography of the "short horse", published by Coward-McCann Inc, NY, 1950. Illus. 240 pages, with appendices.

Nye, Nelson C. - Great Moments in Quarter Racing History. Published by Arco Publishing, NY, 1983. Illus., 286 pages. A Collection of the finest writing on quarter racing, chronicling the achievements of Clabber, Shue Fly, Joe Reed II, Miss Bank, Queeny, Laico Bird, Jet Deck, Whataway To Go, Vandy's Flash, Joe Sherry, Tiny's Gay, and other greats of the sport.

Nye, Nelson C. - Outstanding Modern Quarter Horse Sires. William Morrow & Co., NY, 1948. 221 pages; illus; pedigree charts.

Smelker, Renee H. - Quarter Racing Stakes Horses, 1949-1972. Also Dams of Quarter Racing Stakes Horses in one volume, 1949-1976.

Western Horseman, The, ed. - Legends, various authors. In 4 volumes at the present time.

Wiggins, Walt - The Great American Speedhorse. Foreword by Doc Severinsen. Published by Sovereign Books, NY, 1978. 270 pages, many illustrations and charts.

Denhardt, Robert M. - The Horse of the Americas, University of Oklahoma Press, 1949. 286 pages.

Fritts Publications - All-American Quarter Horse Congress, The, Fritts Publications, Ohio.

Porter, Willard - How to Enjoy Your Quarter Horse. Published by A. S. Barnes & Co., 1973. 200 pages; illus. Index.