RACETRACK GANGS

Sub-titled 'Four Decades of Doping, Intimidation and Violent Crime', between the two world wars and after there was a dramatic upsurge of violence as rival criminal gangs vied for rich pickings from bookmakers at race tracks throughout England. With ready access to cash, 'bookies' were a magnate for mobsters' blackmailing demands. Refusal to pay resulted in severe punishment. Their justified fears spawned a ready 'protection' market. Conflict between rival gangs was frequent and increasingly violent. Charles 'Darby' Sabini with his brothers ran 'The Italian Mob' who clashed with Billy Kimber and his Brummagen Hammers. Uneasy partnerships were formed but seldom lasted. The Sabinis were friendly with the Cortesi family until a rift resulted in one of the Cortesis shooting Harryboy Sabini. Other gangs such as The Titanics and The Nile Mob were ready to fill voids. Internal friction and changing sides resulted in bloodshed on the streets, in pubs and clubs and on the racecourses. Public order was so threatened that the Flying Squad was set the task of the eradication of the problem and in 1936 the celebrated Battle of Lewes Racecourse brought matters to a bloody conclusion. Together they were responsible for a period of approximately 30 years of some of the worst gang warfare - blackmail, wounding, and murders ever seen. The gang shot, slashed, clubbed and hacked each other anywhere they pleased, often in plain view of the police, many of whom reacted with exemplary bravery; others did nothing and some took bribes. Gangsters terrified witnesses and employed lawyers as crooked as they were to bamboozle juries and although the book deals with horrendous violence between the gangs. There is more - the gangs who doped horses to either go faster or slower, and those who introduced 'ringers' on the race track. 222pp in large softback, photos.