From publisher blurb:
Chariot Racing and Intrigue!
Win the Brass Ring
The Roman Coliseum: There are four chariot racing teams that run the arena – the Red, the Blue, the Green, and the Purple. Those who race the arenas are owned by the coliseum, bought and paid for. The only ways out are death, old age, or, once in a great while, being awarded the brass ring – the ring of freedom. Win enough races, and you too might win that brass ring. ... At least, that's what the overseer says the morning of every race. But nothing in the coliseum is ever so simple.
The Luck of the Blues: The Blues have a lot of luck – all of it bad. Only, a lot of that ill luck has to do with the fact that the Emperor favors the Greens, and his manner of favoring the Greens is to insist that the Greens always win. The Greens have won every race in every coliseum in the Empire for years now. Which means only the Greens have a chance of winning their freedom. It is enough to drive a racer mad...and it has done just that. One of the Blues is about to rebel, and try to win. He is going to do it, even if it ends in the Emperor ordering the death of all the Blues of that arena (which is what the Emperor did to the last team to beat the Greens).