Bookies take hit in ‘weapons grade coup’ on race track

An extraordinary few hours yesterday saw bookmakers hit for huge amounts after five heavily-backed horses obliged around England, at least four of which were believed to have some link to legendary Irish gambler and former trainer Barney Curley.

But some leading firms were quick to downplay claims of a “multi-million pound bloodbath”, with industry estimates put at around €2.4 million.

Bookmakers had been on red-alert from early morning after latching on to the well-backed quintet, all of which were returning from lengthy absences and struck at Lingfield, Catterick and Kempton.

David Williams of Ladbrokes said: "It was a bad day at the office, nothing more and nothing less. We dodged most of the early morning frenzy but you can't stop moving trains and we got caught up in some of it as the day panned out.

“Suggestions of a multi-million pound bloodbath are probably wide of the mark so we’re not going to lunge for the violins just yet.

“Our decision not to price the Kempton races up until as late as possible helped protect us from the worst of it and we certainly weren’t exposed to any of the overnight business where most of the fancy prices were snapped up.

“We are satisfied that the systems we have in place at our end are sufficient to protect us as best we can from circumstances like today. Ultimately we have a responsibility to keep on top of the rumours and trade accordingly, which we managed to do.”

Paddy Power claimed the four winners had cost them over one million euro. A spokesperson said: "This is a weapons grade coup, they've well and truly taken our pants down. I'm only jealous I wasn't on myself!"

Coral's David Stevens said: "Although we avoided laying some of the larger prices overnight, we did see a number of multiple bets featuring these four horses both online and in shops, and throughout the day this number increased as word of the gamble that was taking place gathered momentum.

“Victory for all four horses has cost us a six-figure payout, and based on our losses we would estimate the industry has been hit for something in the region of £2m (€2.4 million), which although still costly, is perhaps lower than some claims.”

Rory Jiwani for Stan James said: "We had one punter who took £100,000 ( €122,000) out of us before we slashed the odds. So it was bad day, but not horrific by any stretch."

Bet365 priced up the races early, and any punter who got on with a £1 accumulator bet at the reported prices relating to the four particular horses linked to Curley could have expected to pick up around £13,000, although not all firms marked up the races in the morning or overnight.

PA