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Today's Racing :

Jockey and author Dick Francis dies

British jumps jockey turned prolific author Dick Francis has died at the age of 89.
Crowned as the British champion jumps jockey in 1954, Francis was described as one of the most successful post-war jumps jockeys. Francis almost won the 1956 Grand National at Aintree before Devon Loch, owned by the Queen Mother, collapsed metres from the line when well clear of his rivals.
Francis retired from riding in 1957 to begin his writing career with his autobiography “The Sport Of Queens” before turning his hand to fiction.
The author centred all of his 42 novels around the racing industry in the UK with his last novels, Silks and Even Money, written in collaboration with his son Felix.
Francis moved the Cayman Islands to help his wife Mary’s breathing problems before she passed away in 2000 after 53 years of marriage. The acclaimed author is survived by his sons Felix and Merrick, five grandsons and a great-grandson.
Francis was awarded an OBE in 1984 and a CBE in 2000.
- Racenet

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