Third in the author's horse-racing series featuring track announcer/would-be sleuth Jerry Brogan (Triple Crown), and outclassed by the first two. There's much insider gossip anticipating the upcoming Santa Anita Handicap--to which the murder of unpopular newspaper handicapper Woody Creston adds some excitement. Jerry busies himself talking to everyone ever involved with Creston, who, it seems, was blackmailing half the racing community--owners Colin Masters and Mason Takasumi; jockey Steven Higgins; talk-show host Rog Korpelson; trainer Clint Remington, and others. In the course of his probing, Jerry turns up a second murder victim--jockey Vance Pertwee. In the meantime, we're given lots of information about all these characters--their wives, girlfriends, backgrounds, and the hidden chapters in their lives, along with reams of track lore. None of it is any more riveting than Jerry's nailing of the murderer--one step ahead of LAPD detective Ray Aguilar. Dull, wordy stuff--all at a plodding pace on a muddy track. A loser even for ardent track fans.