The Racing Game.was a six part series on ITV based on the Sid Halley character in the horse racing novels by Dick Francis. Halley is a retired jockey, forced out of the sport by injury, who decides to become a private eye investigating race fixing, horse doping and theft in the racing industry. Quite a unique subject for a crime drama and for all Mike Gwilym wasn;t that great in the lead role, the stories were entertaining and Halley's false hand comes in useful in the fight scenes. Also he is aided by one time judo champion, Chico Barnes, who speaks in an amusing cockney accent, and there are some decent guest stars like Iain Cuthbertson and Jan Francis.
However, The Racing Game suffered from some rotten luck and didn't return after its first series. Firstly, it was held up by a strike at ITV and secondly was shown on a Saturday night against strong opposition on BBC One, so ratings were never very high. It did end up being repeated in the afternoons in some ITV regions before vanishing forever after 1981.
Had this show been given a better slot, a better leading actor and been promoted better by ITV, The Racing Game could have been a big success as the stories were good, it was quite racy in places and the subject was original.
However, The Racing Game suffered from some rotten luck and didn't return after its first series. Firstly, it was held up by a strike at ITV and secondly was shown on a Saturday night against strong opposition on BBC One, so ratings were never very high. It did end up being repeated in the afternoons in some ITV regions before vanishing forever after 1981.
Had this show been given a better slot, a better leading actor and been promoted better by ITV, The Racing Game could have been a big success as the stories were good, it was quite racy in places and the subject was original.
