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This latest release on the MAD Games label is a very high quality icon-driven racing simulation. For the price it's an obvious bargain but you have to be mad about racing to fully appreciate it.

Up to five players can take part and choose up to 75 horses to race in a season. All the horses start out with no form so there's an option to auto-run some races to build up a picture of the horses' abilities.

The numbe of icons gives some idea of the sophistication of the program. Icons are included to give you details of the next race, your financial tatus, the form book on all the runners, a save to tape feature and an icon to allow you to print out the form or racing information.

The bookie icon allows you to make four kinds of bets. As you risk your shirt, you are confronted by an animated picture of a dubious-looking bookie puffing away on a cigar. After the race, if you've had a winner, the same bookie appears, this time with a frown on his face.

As for the races themselves they are the usual staight dash for the line with each horse restricted to its invisible lane. Visually there is an attention to detail that makes it a cut above most racing simulations, with each jockey's bottom bobbing up and down in realistic fashion. If you have a Currah Microspeech unit, you can plug in to a commentary on the race but if you haven't you'll have to be content with lip-reading the animated commentator.

If the game hooks you from the start it will exert a greater hold as time goes on because the form book builds up and should give you a greater chance of taking the bookie to the cleaners. Jockey's weights, going and form can all be included in the computer's decision on the race result so theoretically you should be able to work out the result by deduction. If only it was like that in real life.

Sport Of Kings will be avidly welcomed by anyone who likes to be up to their elbows in racing statistics and form guides. It also makes for a reasonable competitive game but, unless you are a racing fanatic, its appeal is not immediate. Stick with it and the fun may accumulate.