Whistlejacket, Red Rum's last Polo Mints, Horseracing Karaoke and much more....

Staff at the National Horseracing Museum haven't had time to bask in their success at attracting a 27% increase in visitors - they have spent the winter hunting out hundreds of new exhibits for two complete gallery redisplays, and setting in motion two exhibitions of national importance for 1998.

Whistlejacket by George Stubbs (1724-1806) 24 July - 16 August

George Stubbs Whistlejacket was recently acquired by the National Gallery for just over £11m. it is particularly appropriate that we should be able to show it here, for Newmarket was the scene of Whistlejacket's best performance. This was a match against Jason for the Spring King's Plate, which he won in two four-mile-long heats. His victory was unexpected , and perhaps undeserved, because Jason had broken Whistlejacket's record as an unbeaten horse in a race at Newmarket six months earlier, and was his first top class opponent.

Whistlejacket's most famous race, however, was his last - a victory over Brutus at York in 1759, in an unprecedented match over four miles for 2000 guineas. His owner, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, immediately retired him to stud, and commissioned Stubbs to paint him.

The painting is stunning, quite apart from its sheer size. Colleagues at the National Gallery report that it has had a mesmeric effect on visitors. The horse is unencumbered by background, people, bridle or saddle, allowing the viewer to concentrate on his animalism and scarcely-tamed strength. The painting is so realistic that Whistlejacket tried to destroy it. Stubbs had to help the stable lad to subdue him, pummelling the horse with his palette and Mahl stick until the animal calmed down.

Gallery Displays

The hundreds of new exhibits at the Museum include horseracing Karaoke, a state-of-the-art interactive system which allows you to record, and take home, your own racing commentary. Alongside it is a new display of objects on loan from Sir Peter O'Sullevan, including his binoculars and a selection of his pre-commentary race charts, meticulously marked up with the colours of each runner. And if you have ever struggled to understand the racecard, the Museum has the key!

One highlight of the new gallery devoted to the shape of racing in Britain is the Triple Crown display, which includes an oil of Gainsborough painted by James Lynwood-Palmer. This significant acquisition was made possible by a donation from the Friends of the Museum, matched by a grant from the Museum and Galleries Commission Purchase Grant Fund. Gainsborough was foaled in 1915, and by winning the Triple Crown of 1918 made his owner, Lady James Douglas, the first woman to win the Derby or indeed any classic race in her own colours.

And Red Rum's last Polo Mints? Ginger' McCain and his wife Beryl found these at the bottom of his tack box when selecting objects for our new display. We also show winners' sashes for his 1973 and 74 Grand National wins, a congratulatory postcard from Paul and Linda McCartney, his tail hair, the blanket and brow band in which he made his numerous public appearances, and many, many letters from his fans.

There will be plenty of new attractions and events during the year, all of which will be reported in Newmarket Scene. But if you want a fast- track to information and events, why not join the Friends of the Museum. You can contact them via the Museum itself, on 01638 667333, from which you can also receive more details of anything covered in this article.

In contrast, Stubbs' Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath is a more formal, constrained work. It commemorates Gimcrack's most famous victory, a match for 1000 Guineas against Sir James Lowther's Ascham on 10 July 1765. Betting for this race reputedly reached over £100,000. The 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke commissioned Stubbs to commemorate the occasion, Gimcrack being shown winning by a decided margin in the background whilst simultaneously standing near a rubbing-down house in the foreground.

Bolingbroke only owned Gimcrack for three months; after his first defeat in October he was promptly sold. Stubbs was asked to reproduce his painting for a later owner, Lord Grosvenor, and it is this version which will be on loan uniquely to the Museum, thanks to the generosity of the Jockey Club.

Sir Alfred Munnings - The Santa Anita Park Collection July - September

This major exhibition will feature ten paintings by Sir Alfred Munnings (1878 - 1959), many bought by the Santa Anita Park racetrack in California during the artist's lifetime and not seen in this country since then.

Munnings is considered to be one of the British Impressionists, rooted firmly in his love of the English landscape and countryside pursuits. His commissions, painted between 1920 and 1940, are of course tailored to suit his clients' tastes, but left to his own devices he adopted a vivid naturalistic style depicting gypsies, country fairs and agricultural scenes.

All but one of the works in the exhibition are devoted to racing subjects, such as Exercising, Early Morning, Newmarket (1947). Munnings filled hundreds of sketchbooks with scenes on the gallops, memorising the lads' features and dress, noting the difference between good and poor riders, and drinking in the atmosphere. He describes how strings of horses - returning along the chalk tracks from canters or gallops - were lit by the long, golden rays, their shadows cast far ahead... When they came to the start of the canters, a head-lad stopped his horse... some horses, more restive than others - dancing sideways, capering, rearing, bounding - dashed off in pursuit of those ahead.' We can still enjoy such moments of the Heath.