The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game 

The cases of a disabled jockey turned private detective specializing in investigations involving horse racing.

Stars:

Mike Gwilym, Mick Ford, James Maxwell

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Mike Gwilym	...	Sid Halley 6 episodes, 1979-1980
Mick Ford	...	Chico Barnes 5 episodes, 1979
James Maxwell	...	Charles Roland 2 episodes, 1979
Susan Wooldridge	...	Jenny Halley 2 episodes, 1979

Storyline

Sid Halley, a champion jump jockey, had his hand and his career destroyed by a fall in a race, when a horse stepped on his hand. His ex-wife's father pulls him out of his depression by asking him to investigate some fishy deaths at Seabury race course, and the possibility that someone's planning a takeover. Sid, together with his friend, judo expert and ex-thug, Chico Barnes, start poking about and their success in the Seabury case lead to other race course cases: possible fixed races, shady insurance claims, betting scams, and a kidnaped stud. Six one-hour episodes: Odds Against, Trackdown, Gambling Lady, Horses for Courses, Horsenap, and Needle.

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Plot Keywords:

horse | horse racing | detective | horse race | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Högt spel - strama tyglar

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This series was partially based on Dick Francis's novel "Odds Against". Several years after it was made, Francis wrote a second novel "Whip Hand" which featured the same hero, Sid Halley, and dedicated it to Mike Gwilym who had played Halley.

User Reviews

I liked the horse racing

I like the two leads and the horse racing gimmick. I was stranded in some jerkwater Kansas town with nothing to read and in a motel room with a 13" black and white TV with a wire coat hanger for an antenna. The local PBS station ran this and other Mystery! programs over and over the week I was there.

It was a life saver.

It's nothing major, but it was there when I needed it.

I found the two disk complete series while thumbing through the DVDs at my local library.

Wow, a full color 70s flashback.