Odds Against

Odds Against is a 1965 crime novel by jockey-turned-author Dick Francis. The first of Francis' novels to feature detective Syd Halley, Odds Against is in many ways a standard archetypal Francis yarn: it revolves around the unexpectedly seedy underbelly of the world of horse racing and involves a protagonist who has to overcome considerable odds to succeed. Francis's evocation of the horse-racing scene is particularly vivid because of his prior personal experience as a jockey. After six years serving in the Royal Air Force as a young man, he became an acclaimed steeplechase jockey, winning more than 350 races and being named the British National Hunt's champion jockey. In 1956, he served as a jockey to Queen Elizabeth.