For Kicks (Michael Joseph, 1965; Harper & Row, 1965) is an early stand-alone from former steeplechase jockey turned author Dick Francis (1920-2010) who wrote nearly 50 books and won multiple awards. It starts with Daniel Roke, a successful horse breeder and trainer in New South Wales, Australia. His parents died in an accident, leaving him responsible for his younger two sisters and brother so he’s worked unceasingly to provide for them. He’s achieved considerable success but he’s restless and ready for a break.
When Earl October approaches him to go undercover in the English racing world to find out who is doping horses, Roke is reluctant but the pay is significant so he agrees to try to determine what kind of drug can be used to incite horses to maximum exertion but not appear in post-race testing. There’s some good research done by background staff to show that the doping isn’t immediately attributable to one or two trainers but Roke maps the incidents which appear to be focused in a few racetracks.
He adopts a slightly dishonest persona that suggests he’s open to cutting corners or accepting the occasional bribe to encourage under-the-table advances and goes to work as a stable hand in the Earl’s racing stable. From there he goes to work for a trainer with a dreadful reputation which Roke learns is deserved. How a trainer that deliberately starves his workers and then forces them to leave after a few weeks stays in business is a mystery all by itself.
I read several books by Francis years ago. I liked them but not sufficiently to follow his work closely, and this is the first I’ve read in a long time. The way Roke went about analyzing the data he was given and narrowing the pool of suspects was clever and imaginative. The detail surrounding equine care and training is as authoritative as it is overwhelming; I think it takes up more word count than the mystery. While horses are recognized as valuable commodities and mostly treated accordingly, there are a few scenes of abuse that I found disturbing.
For Kicks was an interesting and absorbing way to spend a few hours but I don’t feel the need to read anything else by Francis soon. Readers unfamiliar with his work can easily start here and get a strong sense of his style and focus.