crooked tongues magazine News Features

New Balance's UK factory means they've got every right to play with plenty of conceptual Britishness every year. They've done pubs (and how many other athletic brands could mess with such a boozy topic so overtly?) and plenty of other local topics, but they're doing horse racing this season. Booze and betting is what keeps the UK going. We love the races — John McCirick thawing up gang signs, tiny people in flamboyant clothes and men in tracksuit bottoms getting aggy in branches of Ladbrokes while the rest of the country's at work…it's a beautiful thing. Then there's the horses. Horses have been all up in the news lately, because we've been obliviously munching on equine meatballs and lasagnas for a little while, but fortunately we know the provenance and supply chain of our New Balance 576s, because of that Flimby-made status. Having said that, we do love a spot of Cordovan leather, so if a horse hide slipped onto our shoes we'd be stoked. To coincide with the racing season kicking of at Cheltenham, here's a little preview of the New Balance 576 Race Day pack that celebrates a different kind of race day to the usual NB subject matter. Sometimes this kind of thing is a bit too cutesy and whimsical for us, but we're in a good mood today, so we're appreciating the whole "The Legend" versus "The Fighter" concept and the jockey jersey patterned linings. The materials are excellent and the pick of blue or burgundy alongside some browns and greys is very, very sensible. There's no wacky horsehair textures and no silly stuff here. The New Balance Race Day 576 pack arrives in the Crooked Tongues store next month and they're a safer bet than having a flutter on the Grand National.