Additional information
by Charl Pretorius (Author)
LEGENDS OF THE TURF (Volume 1) is award-winning South African journalist Charl Pretorius' first book since 2006, a compilation of updated personality profiles and articles from his popular column of the same title that ran for over seven years in the Johannesburg daily, The Citizen.Following the success of Horse Chestnut: The Story Of A Legend (coauthored with Mike de Kock) and The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Horseplayers, Pretorius' latest work is a delightful journey into the annals of horseracing history. Sad and nostalgic at times, Legends Of The Turfincludes ten striking chapters and a new bonus profile, documenting extensive research and personal interviews with some of the industry'sbiggest names. Enlightening, controversial and richly entertaining, Legends Of The Turf is the result of one man's love for horseracing and his deep admiration for its heroes, hailed or unsung. It's a collector's piece for all individualswith an interest in the Sport Of Kings, but its general theme of human trials and tribulations has cross-over appeal for any reader who enjoysgood story-telling.
Author Biography
CHARL PRETORIUS (43) is South Africa's most accredited horseracing journalist and an award-winning writer in mainstream journalism. In a stretch of over 24 years in newspapers, magazines and electronic media he has served on most major dailies in Johannesburg. He started his career at the Afrikaans Newspaper Beeld followed by stints at Sunday Times, Business Day and The Citizen, where he was instrumental in launching the popular tabloid, Racing Express as founding editor in 2003. Pretorius also edited Computaform, contributed to SA Horseman and still writes on occasion for its successor, Parade Magazine. He played a pioneering role in the advent of SA horseracing's major websites in the mid 2000s, launching mikedekockracing.com in 2004, seantarryracing.co.za in 2006, freeracer.co.za in 2007 and racingweb.co.za in conjunction with the Moneyweb Group in 2009. Pretorius is known for his controversial articles, some of which have landed him in hot water. At the time of going to print he is facing two charges of "bringing horseracing into disrepute", lodged by South Africa's National Horseracing Authority (NHA), something he describes as "disgraceful, humiliating and being executed with a flagrant disregard for Freedom Of Speech". The ruinous aspects of officialdom have not stifled this racing hack's love for the sport of racing and his deep admiration for its many heroes, too many of them unsung.
