Dick Francis was a champion jockey in Britain. 
When he retired he began writing thrillers, utilizing his knowledge of the racing world. I love his style! His protagonists generally have a couple things in common: brains and 'stiff-upper lips' emotionally. They're marvelous! They're not necessarily brilliant they just think clearly, especially in bad situations. I really admire that.
Dick Francis now writes in conjunction with his son, Felix. I haven't read any of the newer books they've written together but I will now make it a point to do so.
On a side note, his website is amazing. Very simple and easy to navigate but with all good information about the books. My favorite part was that aside from listing books by title he's also had his books listed by protagonist. Wonderful! Have you ever read a book and you can remember the main character's name but not the title? I certainly have. Also this make it easy to see if sequels have been written about your favorite hero (I discovered one I didn't know about for my favorite, Sid Halley).
Here are a couple of my favorites with blurbs from his site:
Odds Against
Amazing what bodily injury could do for a man. A fall from a racehorse had left brilliant jockey Sid Halley dangerously depressed, with a wrecked hand and the need for a new career. And now a bullet wound was helping him find one. He'd been with a detective agency since his racing accident, but it wasn't until some two-bit hoodlum drilled a slug into his side that he was sent out on a case of his own. That was where he met Zanna Martin, a woman who just might make life worth living again. But it was an even-money bet that he'd be killed before she had the chance...
Whip Hand
Sid Halley had one good hand and another made of metal. Five hundred pounds of horse had landed on him, directly ending his career as a brilliant jockey - and indirectly ending his marriage to the woman he loved. He had become a private investigator, quite a good one, though his new life could never erase the haunting memories of his past glories. But it was only when the wife of one of England's top trainers came to beg his help in preventing some foul play at the track that Sid Halley began to know what being haunted really was...
Twice Shy
Twice Shy is different from any other book Dick Francis has written - because instead of just one point of view, there are two narrators. One is Jonathan Derry, a mild-mannered Physics teacher who through a turn of fate ends up in possession of a computer program that can predict which horse will win a race. The second is William Derry, Jonathan's younger brother, who is working as a manager of an American millionaire's English horses. The second part of the book takes up about ten years or more after the first. Everything centres around the computer program - what it does and who wants to get their hands on it?
Shattered
When jockey Martin Stukely dies after a fall at Cheltenham, he accidentally embroils his friend Gerard Logan in a perilous search for a stolen videotape.
Logan is a glass-blower on the verge of widespread acclaim for the originality of his work. Long accustomed to the frightful dangers inherent in molten glass and in maintaining a glass-making furnace at seldom less than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, Logan is suddenly faced with terrifying threats to his livelihood, his courage and, finally, to his life, as he seeks to find the truth. The final race to the tape throws more hazards in Logan's way than his dead jockey friend could have imagined.
Here's a bibliography (from wikipedia):
***I've colored in red those I know I've read. Due to similarities in plot line (i.e. horses, jockies) it's actually difficult to remember from the short blurbs if I've read each book. I know I've read and enjoyed more than I have marked but...***
The Sport of Queens 1957 autobiography
Dead Cert 1962
Nerve 1964
For Kicks 1965
Odds Against 1965
Flying Finish 1966
Blood Sport 1967
Forfeit 1968
Enquiry 1969
Rat Race 1970
Bonecrack 1971
Smokescreen 1972
Slayride 1973
Knockdown 1974
High Stakes 1975
In the Frame 1976
Risk 1977
Trial Run 1978
Whip Hand 1979
Reflex 1980
Twice Shy 1981
Banker 1982
The Danger 1983
Proof 1984
Break In 1985
Bolt 1986
Hot Money 1987
The Edge 1988
Straight 1989
Longshot 1990
Comeback 1991
Driving Force 1992
Decider 1993
Wild Horses 1994
Come to Grief 1995
To the Hilt 1996
10 LB. Penalty 1997
Field of Thirteen 1998 short stories
Second Wind 1999
Shattered 2000
Under Orders 2006
Dead Heat 2007
Silks 2008
Even Money 2009
So anyway...in general I would recommend him to anyone.
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