If you think US Racing is bent - this is the only way British owners can make a crust racing for
prize money of mideweek races US$3,000 !
‘Real-life sting’ sees bookies hit for millions
Bookmakers seem to have been hit by a 'real-life sting' after legendary gambler and ex-trainer Barney Curley appeared to pull off an outrageous betting coup on Tuesday.
Social media was abuzz when four horses in low-key races were massively backed during the day – in some cases going from double figure odds to odds-on - and people started to piece together the common link.
That link was ex-trainer Curley. He had connection to the four horses, who all went on to win, despite having gone on a combined losing run of 47 races.
The bookies had been hit by a similar sting from Curley in 2010 – then only three of four horses won – but that was still enough to cost them an estimated £4m.
Curley first really made his name way back in 1975 with the 'Yellow Sam betting coup.' Then he purposely put a horse in unfavourable situations so it would develop a bad reputation.
He then identified a perfect race for that horse – named Yellow Sam - and put friends and acquaintances in bookmaker shops around Ireland to back the horse at odds of 20-1 just 10 minutes before the start of the race. Those who placed the bets only found out the name of the horse moments beforehand after receiving phone calls from Curley.
Tuesday's coup started with an early race in Lingfield as a horse called Eye Of The Tiger won by nine-lengths at even money despite having been double-figure odds the night before.
Eye of the Tiger used to be trained by Curley and is still being looked after at his former stables in Newmarket by Des Donovan.
Just 10 minutes later, and over in Catterick, the second horse in the gamble, Seven Summits, won by four lengths.
This time the horse had been backed in from 7/1 to 9/4f and again used to be trained by Curley.
At this stage people knew something was up and the racing community started looking at two horses at the evening meeting in Kempton that had been heavily backed - Indus Valley and Low Key.
The Kempton horses were not trained by Curley, but Indus Valley was ridden by his old colleague Donovan while Low Key is trained by John Butler, formerly assistant to Curley and also based in Newmarket.
This time the two horses started as odds-on favourites despite having been much bigger prices earlier in the day as the bookmakers looked to stem the stream of bets. Indus Valley went from 8/1 to 4/6f – Low Key from 7/2 to 4/7f.
Both again won – and Curley and his friends – no doubt cleaned up.
Rumours suggest that they placed 'Yankee bets' on the horses. A Yankee is a four-selection wager consisting of 11 bets: six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold accumulator. It is estimated that the odds on the four-fold was around the 2000/1 mark when the Curley camp got on.
Of course such a plan isn't fool-proof, the horses still have to go out and win the races, but it would appear they were all prepared for this day, with their past performances not reflecting their actual ability.
The stewards at Lingfield and Kempton did inquire into the improved form shown by the two winners linked with Donovan and noted his explanations.
The bookmakers actually reflected on the day with a sense of relief. Such was the buzz of the sting as it unfolded that they were at least able to react quicker than they had when they were hammered back in 2010.
"We've come a long way since that day," said Pat Cooney, spokesperson for Bet365.
"Back then, we didn't make such dramatic price changes as maybe we should have done.
"That was a real wake-up call to the industry. It's still going to be a bad day for us but very few people were quick enough to get the good odds that were initially available about some of these horses.
"Thanks to online social media, nothing seems to be so much of a secret these days. We'd certainly like the last 24 hours back, that's for sure, but we'll still be in business tomorrow."
David Williams of Ladbrokes revealed that their firm's odds-setters delayed putting odds out on the Kempton races as the rumours swirled, and it helped limit their losses.
"Clearly, there was a bit of a whisper first thing this morning that we may want to sit the dance out, rather than rushing into offering fixed‑odds markets, and just see how things unravelled," he said.
"It unravelled in spectacular fashion and we felt vindicated.
"It's a day to forget. You can't stop a moving train, whatever price you put up. But we don't expect a great deal of sympathy and we won't be reaching for the violins.
"Fundamentally, you have a responsibility as a bookmaker to keep on top of rumours and respond accordingly. If you're not able to do that, you probably deserve to get filled in."
Paddy Power were believed to be hit the hardest – losing an estimated €1m (£820,000).
Curley for his part refused to comment on the coup, but he is a legendary figure in the betting world and has been constantly playing a game of cat and mouse with them for years. William Hill even stopped taking bets from him in the 1980s.
Now in his 70s it might be hard for him to pull off another coup like this again, but his remarkable betting plots could surely be fodder for Hollywood scriptwriters.
For this was another sting that Robert Redford and Paul Newman would have been proud of – all that was missing was a Scott Joplin soundtrack.
prize money of mideweek races US$3,000 !
‘Real-life sting’ sees bookies hit for millions
Bookmakers seem to have been hit by a 'real-life sting' after legendary gambler and ex-trainer Barney Curley appeared to pull off an outrageous betting coup on Tuesday.
Social media was abuzz when four horses in low-key races were massively backed during the day – in some cases going from double figure odds to odds-on - and people started to piece together the common link.
That link was ex-trainer Curley. He had connection to the four horses, who all went on to win, despite having gone on a combined losing run of 47 races.
The bookies had been hit by a similar sting from Curley in 2010 – then only three of four horses won – but that was still enough to cost them an estimated £4m.
Curley first really made his name way back in 1975 with the 'Yellow Sam betting coup.' Then he purposely put a horse in unfavourable situations so it would develop a bad reputation.
He then identified a perfect race for that horse – named Yellow Sam - and put friends and acquaintances in bookmaker shops around Ireland to back the horse at odds of 20-1 just 10 minutes before the start of the race. Those who placed the bets only found out the name of the horse moments beforehand after receiving phone calls from Curley.
Tuesday's coup started with an early race in Lingfield as a horse called Eye Of The Tiger won by nine-lengths at even money despite having been double-figure odds the night before.
Eye of the Tiger used to be trained by Curley and is still being looked after at his former stables in Newmarket by Des Donovan.
Just 10 minutes later, and over in Catterick, the second horse in the gamble, Seven Summits, won by four lengths.
This time the horse had been backed in from 7/1 to 9/4f and again used to be trained by Curley.
At this stage people knew something was up and the racing community started looking at two horses at the evening meeting in Kempton that had been heavily backed - Indus Valley and Low Key.
The Kempton horses were not trained by Curley, but Indus Valley was ridden by his old colleague Donovan while Low Key is trained by John Butler, formerly assistant to Curley and also based in Newmarket.
This time the two horses started as odds-on favourites despite having been much bigger prices earlier in the day as the bookmakers looked to stem the stream of bets. Indus Valley went from 8/1 to 4/6f – Low Key from 7/2 to 4/7f.
Both again won – and Curley and his friends – no doubt cleaned up.
Rumours suggest that they placed 'Yankee bets' on the horses. A Yankee is a four-selection wager consisting of 11 bets: six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold accumulator. It is estimated that the odds on the four-fold was around the 2000/1 mark when the Curley camp got on.
Of course such a plan isn't fool-proof, the horses still have to go out and win the races, but it would appear they were all prepared for this day, with their past performances not reflecting their actual ability.
The stewards at Lingfield and Kempton did inquire into the improved form shown by the two winners linked with Donovan and noted his explanations.
The bookmakers actually reflected on the day with a sense of relief. Such was the buzz of the sting as it unfolded that they were at least able to react quicker than they had when they were hammered back in 2010.
"We've come a long way since that day," said Pat Cooney, spokesperson for Bet365.
"Back then, we didn't make such dramatic price changes as maybe we should have done.
"That was a real wake-up call to the industry. It's still going to be a bad day for us but very few people were quick enough to get the good odds that were initially available about some of these horses.
"Thanks to online social media, nothing seems to be so much of a secret these days. We'd certainly like the last 24 hours back, that's for sure, but we'll still be in business tomorrow."
David Williams of Ladbrokes revealed that their firm's odds-setters delayed putting odds out on the Kempton races as the rumours swirled, and it helped limit their losses.
"Clearly, there was a bit of a whisper first thing this morning that we may want to sit the dance out, rather than rushing into offering fixed‑odds markets, and just see how things unravelled," he said.
"It unravelled in spectacular fashion and we felt vindicated.
"It's a day to forget. You can't stop a moving train, whatever price you put up. But we don't expect a great deal of sympathy and we won't be reaching for the violins.
"Fundamentally, you have a responsibility as a bookmaker to keep on top of rumours and respond accordingly. If you're not able to do that, you probably deserve to get filled in."
Paddy Power were believed to be hit the hardest – losing an estimated €1m (£820,000).
Curley for his part refused to comment on the coup, but he is a legendary figure in the betting world and has been constantly playing a game of cat and mouse with them for years. William Hill even stopped taking bets from him in the 1980s.
Now in his 70s it might be hard for him to pull off another coup like this again, but his remarkable betting plots could surely be fodder for Hollywood scriptwriters.
For this was another sting that Robert Redford and Paul Newman would have been proud of – all that was missing was a Scott Joplin soundtrack.