Searching on-line for historical books regarding racing, I found New York Library digital copy of a 147-page book, "Nursery Stud Thoroughbreds, property of August Belmont, Lexington, Kentucky 1897".
It is a catalogue of his stock. One of the most interesting pages is a photograph, "View of large pasture at Nursery Stud, looking towards Lexington" - interesting in that the pasture is absolutely filled with oak and juniper trees (not allowed nowadays!).
Maybe one of the pedigree buffs can answer - was it common for farms to publish such catalogues, to share the bloodlines they had with fellow breeders? To simply document their participation? Or was this an early example of an on-farm sales catalogue ?
http://books.google.com/books?id=OLI...tucky#PPP13,M1
And, if you want an interesting winter's read, check out "Outing, an illustrated monthly magazine of sport, travel and recreation" from it's winter compilation, October 1891 - March 1892. Check out the bottom of this index page, and go to "Status of the American Turf"
http://books.google.com/books?id=Kgc...tucky#PPP12,M1
Or, in the same issue, you could read, "A plea for style in boxing". Or maybe, "Cowboy Life", or, "Football in 1891" Or perhaps some of their fiction stories
