Some you win - Julian Wilson

The remarkable memoirs of the BBC's long-serving racing correspondent Julian Wilson, who recalls his society lifestyle and describes the turmoil within the Corporation in a fascinating look behind the scenes in racing's corridors of power.

Julian Wilson's life story is one of colour and controversy. His early years were spent satisfying his hunger for horse racing amid the escapades of cricket and rugby. From London to Glasgow, then on to Newmarket, the home of racing, where he developed his passion for the sport, he went on to join the BBC as a radio broadcaster.

In his flamboyant style, Wilson reminisces about the great horses of his time - Hyperion, Pontenuovo, Red Rum and Shergar - while under the microscope go a host of owners, trainers, jockeys and commentators, among them Lester Piggott, Walter Swinburn, Peter O'Sullevan, Des Lynam and David Coleman.

Off the track, he relives the merry-go-round of parties, gambling and infidelities with the smart set that were such a feature of the Swinging Sixties.

There is also Wilson's forthright and at times brutally honest account of the internal strife at the BBC which followed financial cutbacks and the loss of racing contracts.

New for this paperback edition, in an additional chapter, Wilson comments on a year since his retirement, and how he is enjoying his life after the BBC.

His autobiography is essential reading for devotees of horse racing's 'high life' as well as punters seeking a unique insight into the sport.