The Library's resources on horseracing include general race histories, biographies of jockeys, and books on famous trainers and champion horses. You can also search indexes for individual jockeys and well-known racehorses.
Paintings and photographs of notable Melbourne Cup winners – including Malua (1884), Carbine (1890), Phar Lap (1930) and Makybe Diva (2003–05) – can be found in our Pictures Collection.
Our extensive collection of sporting and illustrated newspapers can be searched in conjunction with the Victorian racing calendar for reports on major races and race results.
We also hold a wide variety of horseracing–related fiction, from Nat Gould's prolific popular fiction of the 1900s through to Arthur Upfield's Depression-era novel The great Melbourne Cup mystery and, more recently, the evocative novels of Gerald Murnane, winner of the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature.
Students of horse breeding will also find material of interest. The Library's collection of Victorian and Australian stud books dates from 1859, and whilst coverage is not as comprehensive, our collection also includes international stud books.
