American Ringer
by Alan Benning

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To most, it would seem that English businessman and horse-racing aficionado Richard Montrose has it all, with three successful businesses—a car dealership and a small farm in Norfolk, England, and a development corporation in Barcelona, Spain—as well as the affectionate devotion of the beautiful Jennifer (who loves him unconditionally). But he still wants more. Ambitious and determined, his dream is to have a horse of his own run in the Kentucky Derby and win—a dream that gets just a bit closer to becoming a reality when he stumbles across a unique family of thoroughbreds, all of which look identical (despite their varied ages). Recognizing their once-in-a-lifetime potential, and with his head filled with revitalized dreams of horse-racing glory, he purchases them and begins to plan. Unfortunately, between a dishonest bank manager who carefully pins the blame for his illegal activities on Richard, threatening to implicate Jennifer unless he takes the fall, and the Spanish mafia, who’ve taken offense at his doing business in Barcelona without kissing the proverbial ring, his luck with horses isn’t carrying over to his interactions with animals of the two-legged variety, most of whom have schemes and dreams of their own, not all of which are legal or even survivable. Although fictionalized, “about 65 percent” of American Ringer, a story of love, deceit, danger, and determination, is based on experiences gained from the author’s actual life. Of course, this begs a very simple and intriguing question: Which parts of this story actually did happen?

www.alanbenning.com

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Author Alan Benning has been a successful businessman in England, Spain, and the United States for over fifty-seven years, and during that time was internationally licensed to own and train racehorses in seven different countries. Born and raised in England, his original life plan had involved football (soccer) but his dreams of turning professional were dashed by a broken leg. Luckily, by that point, he was already well on his way to becoming a successful businessman, and in any case, his true passion had always been the world of horse racing, which “never felt like work.” For a number of years, he even wrote articles for a national racehorse magazine named The Thoroughbred Times. When he moved to Florida, he took over a chocolate factory supplying Disney World, Sea World, and the now defunct Burdines, and opened numerous stores selling chocolate and greeting cards. When that phase passed he purchased a 300 acre horse farm in Ocala, before traveling the country training racehorses at most of America’s tracks. Then real estate became a new obsession, followed by ownership of a golf course and (not surprisingly) many more horses. He currently lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida, with Carol (his wife of fifty-six years), and two beautiful Munchkin cats, whom they adore. The couple have two children, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren, ranging from a few months old to twenty-seven years. Alan and his wife still enjoy watching horse racing and assessing the quality of the various horses, as well as going to live shows, reading, and spending time with family.

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Author

Alan Benning

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