Silver Spring, MD; June 17, 2008 — Acorn Media announces the August 12, 2008 DVD release of The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game, a six episode series seen on PBS’s Mystery! in its inaugural season. Fans of the champion-jockey-turned-writer Dick Francis will delight in this mystery series based on Francis’s bestselling detective fiction, including the novel Odds Against.

Sid Halley (Mike Gwilym), a star steeplechase rider, suffers a career-ending injury that leaves him crippled in body and spirit. He finds new life as a private detective and returns to the track to investigate all manner of misdeeds, from conniving bookies and blackmail to murder. A great literary gumshoe emerges as Halley regains his dignity, faces his vulnerability, and finds new meaning in life.

This absorbing series stays true to the down-and-dirty thrills of Francis’s novels and adds its own irresistible swagger and charm.

The Racing Game aired in the U.S. in April 1980 and stars Mike Gwilym (Love’s Labour’s Lost), Mick Ford (A Woman of Substance, Kim), and BAFTA-winner Susan Wooldridge (Hope and Glory).

A New York Times bestselling author, Dick Francis has won numerous honors, including lifetime achievement awards from the Mystery Writers of America and the Crime Writers’ Association (U.K.).

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.