Two by Francis Forfeit / Slayride Author:Dick Francis Forfeit -- James Tyron, a racing reporter for a London scandal sheet, knew that fellow writer Bert Chekov was a drunk, but he always thought he was an honest one. But when Bert suddenly died in an "accidental" fall from a window, Tyrone suspeced the clues to his death might be found in some suspicious columns he'd ... more »written touting can't lose horses -- who myseriously failed to show up on race day. With his own professional and private lives in a chaotic jumble, Tyrone knew he'd have find a way to prove that Chekov was murdered. Be he didn't know the terrifying risk he was unwittingly about to take....« less
These are both excellent early Francis novels. Forfeit, 1969, has a racing journalist as the hero. Slayride, 1973, is set mostly in Norway with a Jockey Club investigator as the main character.