I Watch TV: The Racing Game
The Racing Game Dick Francis, champion jockey and thriller writer created a character Sid Halley in his novel Odds Against . Halley is injured in a racing accident and has to retire; depressed he mopes around until his ex-wife’s father Charles Roland comes to him with a problem. An Australian investor and his wife are making attempts to buy out the race course (Roland is the chairman) to build a supermarket. They might succeed as a variety of strange accidents occur on the course. Inviting Halley to stay for the weekend along with the investor, Roland makes a big deal of Halley’s working class roots, his injury, and how he doesn’t work. This is intended to mislead the investor, and also spur Halley to action. As it turns out the investor and wife are pretty sadistic, enjoying bullying Halley and insisting on seeing his hand. Later as the plot develops they capture Halley, and threaten him. Their racecourse henchman tells them pain won’t work, jump jockeys eat that for breakfa...
