From the late 1940s Munnings became fascinated by the world of horse- racing and the spectacle of jockeys and horses exercising and racing. Newmarket was his favourite course and he was a frequent and popular visitor with the staff who allowed him to sit at the starting post and paint and sketch. The starts were the most exciting part of the race, he recalled 'seeing visible beauty; the grouping, the movement - colour, all dependent on the lighting, the sky... a large field waiting, waiting, regrouping'
(A.J. Munnings, The Finish, Suffolk, 1952, pp.182)