Racing toys and games

Three galloping horses with jockey in pink, orange and yellow.

The box was made by the W Britain company in England, probably in the 1920s, as part of a series of lead horse and jockey models painted in the colours of famous race horse owners. The colours of the King are purple, gold, scarlet and black.

Britain's was founded in 1845, but it was the hollow-cast method of toy soldier production developed in the 1890s by William Britain, that made the company competitive. The hollow-cast method created a hollow, more three-dimensional lead figure that was more lifelike than the flat-lead figures previously produced by companies around the world. The company became famous for its toy soldiers and military figures. During the inter-war periods other figures were introduced, such as farm animal sets, which sold very well around the world, including in Australia. The 'Racing Colours of Famous Owners' horses and jockeys were introduced in 1925. Britain's continued to produce toys, later made of plastic, until the 1980s, focusing on a range of products such as space and agricultural toys, as well as plastic military figures. The Britain family sold the company in 1986 and the W Britain name and company are now owned by a family business in America, which continues to make replica die-cast figures.

The jockeys and horses here were not made by Britain's, but by another famous English company called Chad Valley. The toy company came about as a sideline first developed by an English printer in the 1830s. Initially beginning with card and paper-based games, the company branched out to soft toys and teddy bears, and eventually metal and bakelite toys. In the Twenties and Thirties the company came up with a range of toys related to gambling - probably not marketable for the children of today! It is possible that the metal horses here were part of a Chad Valley game called Escalado where players place bets and race metal horses across a board. The game was so popular that it was acquired by the Waddington's game company.

A game which also adds the dimension of race betting is Totopoly, first published in 1938 by Waddington, and later published for the Australian market in the 1960s by Murfett. Based on the concept of Monopoly, the players begin the game with money to purchase and train their horses before entering the race, which is where the betting begins. Once on the race track, the players face all sorts of hazards such as 'soft going' or getting stuck against the rails. In the 1966 version of the game, the winner is the one whose horse wins the race, regardless of who has the most money at the end. However this rule apparently varies with different versions of the game, as in some editions, the winner is the one with the most money at the end.

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