The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (1979)

Sid Halley, a champion jump jockey, had his hand and his career destroyed by a fall in a race, when a horse stepped on his hand. His ex-wife's father pulls him out of his depression by asking him to investigate some fishy deaths at Seabury race course, and the possibility that someone's planning a takeover. Sid, together with his friend, judo expert and ex-thug, Chico Barnes, start poking about and their success in the Seabury case lead to other race course cases: possible fixed races, shady insurance claims, betting scams, and a kidnaped stud. Six one-hour episodes: Odds Against, Trackdown, Gambling Lady, Horses for Courses, Horsenap, and Needle.