When I saw this book was about British true crime gangs in the early part of the last century. I had to read it..

The book focuses on gangs that preyed on the racetracks, and bookmakers. When not at racetracks the gangs would often fighting each other, their allegiance to each other never certain.

The book looks at cases involving attacks on bookies, by gangs during this era. Where the information is known the reader is told who was involved and what happened. Also if available, it us the charges filed and the outcome of court cases and sentences given.

Appropriate that the setting of this book is - for some of the time - a racetrack because it is GO from the start. A lot of information in here. In some cases too much. Or, at least, the book should have been expanded and the reader could be slowly led into the flurry of facts. As it is it reads as if the reader is holding his breath until the end. Breaking it up with some anecdotes and observations would have made it that much more enjoyable. But I say this while also noting that this is a brilliant effort with wonderful information. I will say that I was hesitant to finish this book because I did not want it to end. Kirby really immerses the reader into this dangerous and seductive world. We also learn that these guys were all awful shots! One suggestion for future publications. Insert a cast of characters in the shape of a race form so the reader can keep track of all these colorful characters. Again, an excellent read.

Well-researched and abounding in details. There were so many names it was hard to keep track of who each was in relation to all the others. Aside from that, the narrative was well written and, for the most part, chronological. It was interesting to read about how society, the police, and the courts dealt with gang violence in the early part of the twentieth century.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own honest opinions.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars

This was a good, detailed book about the history of gangsters (specifically the 1920s & 30s racetrack gangs) across England.

I hadn’t realised that the TV show Peaky Blinders was actually based on a real gang or that Billy Kimber was a real guy.

Overall definitely worth a read if you’re interested in history/gangs/horse racing or betting.

Honestly, this book is pretty bad. The time and the topic are very interesting, as is some of the information Kirby relays. But it is written in such a dry, abrupt, confused style that it is hard to follow, never mind get invested. Kirby often starts a story, mentions people whose names have never appeared before as if the reader is supposed to know them, jumps into a different crime those people would commit a couple of years later, then returns to the original story, only to finish it in two dry sentences. I would not have thought that gang warfare and racing crimes could be made so boring. Most of the book is written very impersonally, as if summarizing police reports, but sometimes the author will suddenly intrude on the narrative with personal anecdotes or political commentary, which feels very out of place.
It is obvious that the author is very knowledgeable about his subject, but he does not manage to tell a compelling story or develop a coherent theory of the crimes he describes so curtly.

In the 1920s and 30s, there were many rival gangs regularly blackmailing bookmakers at English racecourses. Failure to pay up often resulted in severe punishment, creating something of a racetrack protection racket. During that period most racecourses were plagued by these violent gangs armed with weapons, ready to bully bookies for a percentage of their takings.

This account details such vicious gangs as the Italian Mob (ran by the Sabini brothers), Billy Kimber’s Brummagen Hammers, the Titanics and the Nile Mob (amongst others) and their partnerships, fallings out, and rifts, cataloguing their internal and external fighting. Indeed the problem became such a threat to public order that the Flying Squad was brought in try and eradicate.

Well researched and somewhat graphically detailed at times, anyone with an interest in early 20th century gang warfare and/or racing /betting history will find this a fascinating read.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!

Old school gangster cool...that pretty much summarizes this book! Heavy on details at times, gory details, so beware! What a neat subject to read about, great idea for a book and so well researched!

The book started well but I felt that the title was misleading and it looked at gangs but not much about the actual racetracks and the gang warfare that occurred on them. There was little background to the characters and thus there were lots of different characters brought in at various times rather than developing those mains ones and giving some background. the book would have been better divided into the gangs as each chapter or a character and developed through that.
The book was obviously well researched but it often felt like it was this gang beat people up, they went to court, they got off...repeat.
Very disappointed at a missed opportunity.

This being another Dick Kirby book, I “wished” for it, and in a reasonable time was informed that I’d been chosen to get it. This is a book about British true crime gangs in the early part of the last century. It focuses on the ones in particular that were preying on the racetracks, and the bookmakers who went there with money much of the time. The gangs would fight each other when they weren’t jumping other people for money. Their allegiance to a certain gang would be pretty fluid too, depending how the wind was blowing that week.

It goes over different violent cases involving gang members and attacks on bookies, other gangs, and just random folks in different areas through the years. It gives what information is known on who was involved and what happened. Then if available, it also tells the charges filed and court cases with the outcomes when known and sentences. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Dick Kirby, and publisher Pen & Sword.

Extremely informative and enlightening, well written and presented, researched brilliantly and considering some of the locations this occurred in, i used to live almost in the exact places these actions occurred Made it all the more real and frightening. I discovered many things I was unaware of surrounding the Kingston and the Ewell area that happened years ago and it made me feel more involved in the book as a whole.
Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in gang activity from years gone by or anyone with a keen interest in history.
Many thanks for allowing me to read it.

The Racetrack Gangs is the latest book about crime and policing in days gone by from the consistently excellent Dick Kirby, whose back catalogue I'm currently working my way through.
This is the story of the vicious gangs who plagued the racetracks of England between the World Wars, terrorising Bookies and engaging in vicious feuds with each other.

Often split on racial lines these gangs would openly have mass battles with razors,knives,coshes and even firearms involved ,often in public in crowded places showing that our current gang problem and the mass battles between rival football supporters that were common a few years ago,thankfully quite rare now, are nothing new. It does seem at times that the book is a relentless list of savagery carried out by vicious sociopathic people who felt themselves above the law, an attitude enhanced by corruption and threats meaning that they often walked free from Court when very obviously guilty of appalling crimes. My Great Grandfather was a Metropolitan Police Constable at the time who told my Dad that he dispensed more justice in back alleys than the courts ever did, reading this book I now have a better understanding of what he meant.

As always with Dick Kirby's books he brings the events, the era and the people to life. This is a real eye-opener for those who think our society has got more violent and our legal system is far too lenient, if anything London is a safer place and it appears the courts have never been fit for purpose. The book shows how the racetrack gangs, before some very "hands on" policing and the advent of legal off-track betting shops , were linked to the ascendancy of people like Billy Hill and Jack Spot and that the Krays,far from being a new phenomenon,were merely following in a long line of savage thugs ,some of whom they admired greatly, who used extreme violence and terrorised their local communities for their own end.

The book reads almost like a Wild West saga,the gangs rampaging across the racetracks ,having very public pitched battles,ambushes,stabbings,shootings and then the police given a free reign fighting fire with fire. As always Dick Kirby concentrates on the big characters on both sides of the law and intersperses the narrative with his characteristically forthright comments on today's law enforcement and legal system's failings.

Another excellent read from Dick Kirby, thanks to him, Pen & Sword True Crime and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.