King of the Roses - Paperback

by V. S. Anderson (Author)

A horse-racing mystery for horse lovers and fans of suspense alike Jockey Chris Englund has won five Kentucky Derbies, tying the record. But his take-no-prisoners personality and his clashes with the power structures of Thoroughbred racing have stalled his career. There's also his uncompromising honesty in a world full of lures to game the system. At 47, Chris is still sure he's the best. He just can't seem to prove it anymore.

Out of the blue, he's offered the ride on the odds-on Derby favorite, Knidos, who is owned by billionaire industrialist Simms Mulraven. But his hopes for a triumphant Derby week turn to ashes when he's offered half a million dollars to hold Knidos and set off a betting bonanza for criminal cartels around the world.

And that's nothing to the choices he must make when Mulraven's idealistic young daughter Jessica demands he sacrifice what's left of his career, not to mention his life, to save Knidos from people who would ruin the great horse for their own financial gain.

As the Derby draws near, the greatest spectacle in sports becomes a testing ground of Chris Englund's courage. When he unravels the secrets behind the fix, he must choose between honesty and his life, between a love he never expected to feel and a truth more fragile than any he ever knew. The race itself becomes a violent clash between defiance and sacrifice as Chris faces the brutal costs his honesty demands.