“Hollywood at the Races”
We have FOUR Books to Give Away this month!
It’s time for our next book giveaway contest! This month CMH is very happy to announce that we will be giving away FOUR COPIES of Hollywood at the Races: Film’s Love Affair with the Turf by Alan Schubak, courtesy of University Press of Kentucky, from now through Oct 26.
In order to qualify to win one of these prizes via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, Oct 26 at 9PM EST. However, the sooner you enter, the better chance you have of winning, because we will pick a winner on four different days within the contest period, via random drawings, as listed below… So if you don’t win the first week that you enter, you will still be eligible to win during the following weeks until the contest is over.
- Oct 5: One Winner
- Oct 12: One Winner
- Oct 19: One Winner
- Oct 26: One Winner
We will announce each week’s winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub, the day after each winner is picked at 9PM EST — for example, we will announce our first week’s winner on Sunday Oct 6 at 9PM EST on Twitter. And, please note that you don’t have to have a Twitter account to enter; just see below for the details…
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And now on to the contest!
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, October 26 at 9PM EST — BUT remember, the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win…
1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post
2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message*:
Just entered to win the “Hollywood at the Races” #BookGiveaway courtesy of @KentuckyPress & @ClassicMovieHub You can enter too here http://ow.ly/WMge50wE4qx
THE QUESTION:
Do you have any favorite movies about the races? If not, why do you want to win this book?
*If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
NOTE: if for any reason you encounter a problem commenting here on this blog, please feel free to tweet or DM us, or send an email to clas…@gmail.com and we will be happy to create the entry for you.
ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…
About the Book: Horse racing was so popular and influential between 1930 and 1960 that nearly 150 racing themed films were released, including A Day at the Races, Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, and National Velvet. This fast-paced, gossipy history explores the relationship between the Hollywood film industry, the horse racing industry, and the extraordinary participation of producers, directors, and actors in the Sport of Kings. Alan Shuback details how all three of Southern California’s major racetracks were founded by Hollywood luminaries: Hal Roach was cofounder of Santa Anita Park, Bing Crosby founded Del Mar with help from Pat O’Brien, and Jack and Harry Warner founded Hollywood Park with help from dozens of people in the film community. The races also provided a social and sporting outlet for the film community―studios encouraged film stars to spend a day at the races, especially when a new film was being released. The stars’ presence at the track generated a bevy of attention from eager photographers and movie columnists, as well as free publicity for their new films. Moreover, Louis B. Mayer, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Betty Grable, and Don Ameche were all major Thoroughbred owners, while Mickey Rooney, Chico Marx, and John Huston were notorious for their unsuccessful forays to the betting windows.
Click here for the full contest rules.
Please note that only Continental United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and the territory of Puerto Rico) entrants are eligible.
And — BlogHub members ARE eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).
Good Luck!
And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can purchase the on amazon by clicking here:
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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
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I love horse racing having attended numerous Kentucky Derby days!
I also love classic film and the actors and actresses.
My favorite horse racing film is Money from home from 1953 starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and including Richard Haydn and Sheldon Leonard…I watch it at least once a year! Love to read this book as it is all about a topics I love-I sure hope I win 🙂
I do like the races and of course my favorite would be National Velvet.
I would love to learn more about the other films with this book.
Although not specifically a horse racing movie I can’t help but recall Eliza Doolittle’s visit to Royal Ascot in the film of My Fair Lady. She caused quite the stir. Thanks for the chance to win this beautiful book.
Although I do not have a favorite Hollywood races movie (as of yet) I would like to win this book because my Grandfather loved going to the horse races- and even when he didn’t go, he always watched. He had a system of carefully choosing which horses to bet on, and I have memories of watching the races on tv with him! (@flapperdame16 on twitter)
I do not have a Twitter account so am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
Do I even have a favorite horse racing movie? After mulling this over I came up with BEN HUR, LITTLE MISS MARKER,and NATIONAL VELVET, as well as general positive memories of black and white scenes of nattily dressed crowds in 1930s and 1940s films. I realized that I wanted to read this book to better understand how the motif of racing and the track have been used to carry various themes such as danger, chance, or time set apart from everyday life. Since I grew up near Santa Anita Race Track glamour enters the picture too.
Sorrowful Jones and A Day at the Races.
I love horseracing!
I went to my first race in 1969 at the age of 7 with my Dad (at the old Waterford Park) and put down my first bet. The track has been my lifelong passion ever since.
My favorite movies involving horseracing are “The Sting” (‘the wire’ scam involved tinkering with race results on the newspaper wires), Stanley Kubrik’s “The Killing” (I believe it was filmed at the old Bay Meadows, south of San Francisco, a track I fondly remember since I once hit a maiden claimer there for $5 large), and “Guys & Dolls” (“I got the horse right here/His name is Paul Revere…”) as I worked on the early 90s revival of it pre-Broadway.
When the Spring and Fall Meets start at Del Mar each year, I can hear Bing crooning:
Where the surf meets the turf:
Down at old Del Mar!
Take a plane, take a train,
Take a car!
My favorite horse racing movie is A Day at the Races.
For me I would say the 1945 film She Went to the Races starring Francis Gifford and Ava Gardner. Both women proved to be very adept at comedy, Gardner especially got in a few great laughs (the scene with the custom drink in particular). It’s not a classic by any means, but memorable as a light hearted romp.
Broadway Melody of 1938 is my favourite Hollywood movie about racing, as it mixes horse racing with show business and the cast need to win a race to fund their show. It also has an all-star cast including a dancing Eleanor Powell and a young Judy Garland singing ‘Dear Mr Gable’. I also love seeing candid photographs of all the bog stars at the races, a favourite past time of the likes of Barbara Stanwyck.