
Doped
The Real Life Story of the 1960s Racehorse Doping Gang
Jamie Reid(Author)
Raceform Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 25. April 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-909471-51-1 (ISBN)
Description
Doped is the gripping true-story racing thriller set in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s. Combining a potent mix of horseracing, drugs, sex, class, crime, gambling and the monarchy, it tells the true story of one of the biggest doping scandals in British racing history. In March 1962 an audacious attempt to nobble one of the royal horses alerted police to a well organised band of racecourse criminals, backed by murderous London gangsters. The subsequent Flying Squad pursuit of the gang brought the quaintly deferential world of racing into sharp conflict with the harsher realities of the 'You've Never Had It So Good' era. This also coincided with the birth of the annual Dick Francis novel. The cast of characters is headed by William Roper, a debonair ex RAF Sergeant turned oddsmaker. His team included an ex jockey, numerous underpaid stable lads, an upper class gambling addict and a violent professional gangster who went on to face charges with the Kray twins in 1969. But the most fascinating member of Roper's firm was a beautiful and self-possessed young Swiss woman called Micheline Lugeon who became the bookmaker's lover and mistress.
Short-listed for the 2013 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.
Short-listed for the 2013 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pitch Publishing Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-909471-51-1 (9781909471511)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jamie Reid is a journalist, writing a column for The Financial Times, and author and has written several books including A Licence to Print Money (1992) and Emperors of the Turf (1989).