On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in May 2011. This was part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which marked the end of Queen's almost 40-year association with EMI Records. All of the band's albums were remastered and reissued by Universal in 2011. Queen entered The Manor in Oxfordshire on 12 July to commence work on A Day At The Races. [15] Absent was Roy Thomas Baker, who had helped the band produce their last four albums. [16] This was because of a four-album contract he had signed with the band in 1972. This contract had expired after the release of the band's fourth album, and the band had decided to record the album by themselves, with the assistance of engineers Mike Stone and Gary Langan. Baker would travel to America to produce more material after signing a contract with CBS Records. [17] On 19 July, May's 29th birthday, (according to a letter written for the fan club around this time) while the band were recording in The Manor, the band were mailed items related to penguins. A giant penguin ice maker was also shipped to the band. These items were mailed to the band because of May's interest in penguins.

a b c d Brooks, Greg & Taylor, Gary. "A Day At The Races". Queenonline.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2016 . Retrieved 11 October 2016. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779.Blake, Mark (25 October 2010). Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-84513-659-8. a b Ramirez, AJ (8 June 2011). "In the Lap of the Gods: The First Five Queen Albums". PopMatters . Retrieved 16 October 2015. With the group now firmly in command of the mechanics of pop songcraft (fittingly, the album spun off the most singles from any Queen LP up until then). Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8thed.). Menomonee Falls, WI: Billboard Books. Oasis album is greatest ever". This is London. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010.

American album certifications – Queen – A Day at the Races". Recording Industry Association of America. The song was the biggest hit single from the album. It went to number two on the UK charts (kept from the number one spot by " Under the Moon of Love" by Showaddywaddy) and number 13 on the US singles chart. [29] [30] [31] "White Man" You Take My Breath Away" was written by Mercury and based on the harmonic minor scale. He performed it by himself at Hyde Park before recording it, and all of the vocals in the version of the song on the album were performed by him, as was the piano part.Bell, Max (26 December 2019). "A Day At The Races: How Queen Scored Pole Position". uDiscover Music . Retrieved 18 January 2020. Roberts, David, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.