Aintree and Cheltenham. Names to conjure with for horse-racing enthusiasts the world over. But Swansea?

Yes, indeed, in the nineteenth century, Manselton in Swansea boasted one of the finest racecourses in Britain. Originally the leisurely preserve of the Glamorgan gentlemen, the Swansea and Neath races soon became more raucous and riotus. But, as author Robin Campbell explains in this entertaining piece of social history, what the sport lost in refinement it more than made up for in excitement.

The working people of the area flocked to these races, treating them as holidays dedicated to drinking and gambling and girls, much to the annoyance of many local bosses and clergymen!

Grand National jockeys were amongst the household names to grace a course where the paddock, private stand, telegraph office and elegant 2500-seater grandstand made Manselton a model of modernity.

But for all its popularity, its financial foundations were never firm. And, as ever where sport and money keep company, the opportunistic and unscrupulous were never far away....

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