Black Horse Red Dog comprises 20 new auto-biographical yarns of the betting exploits of Michael Church, his family and their ancestors. The title stems from the black horse - Grand Parade - 33-1 winner of the 1919 'Peace Derby', attended by his grandmother and her sister with dramatic results. Red Dog is the name of the card game played on the Cheltenham Special Pullman train when the author went to see Best Mate's first Gold Cup victory. The other stories include a school sports day in the year of the 1948 London Olympics; Church's scraps with officialdom and a football sweepstake at R.A.F. Filton, and as a jazz trumpeter with his group en route to Brighton races. It also includes the mix up which led to Auntie Mary putting two weeks rent money on the Queen's Manicou in Kempton's King George.