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If the BHA hadn’t intervened, what could they have done after the event?
To stop those who landed the dubious gamble / strategy, from profiting.
“When you bump into a gamble shortly after allegedly being denied a gamble”.
Not just a gamble landed but a gamble landed by a trainer having only his second winner on the Flat in the last 10 years.
Most remarkable thing about this must be the Racing Post’s keenness to make headline about the trainer being hard done by. That said, mostly these things go unreported (and uninvestigated) so I do wonder what’s going on here. I don’t expect to ever discover the truth.
As for football, I gave up seriously betting on it when Greece won the Euros.
Why did they wait until two minutes from the off before intervening when the money had come for the horse many hours before the race?
Also, surely the horse has to run first and it’s performance evaluated before they can make a case against anyone?
Are connections not allowed to back their horse if they fancy it now?
If the BHA’s aim is to kill off the sport completely, they are going the right way about it.
I’m not sure I agree with this.
To explain, my idea of racing’s biggest myth/misapprehension.
“Barney Curley was a hero to punters.”
RIP, but not to any punter who used a form book he wasn’t.
When a horse with little apparent chance on form lands a gamble, it isn’t just bookmakers who lose money – it’s every punter who bet on another horse in the same race.
How will punters who backed Investment Manager, the winner, be feeling this evening?
Will they be angry with the BHA for stopping a gambled-on rival with an arguably less obvious chance on overall form from running?
I doubt it.
There is a lot of eyebrow-raising stuff going on in racing and some of it involves higher-profile yards, but does that in itself make it actually “wrong” to single out any individual?
And will this make other yards sit up and suddenly take notice of this new apparent line in the sand?
It’s an interesting development with few clear-cut arguments on either side IMO.
I’d hate a Tote monopoly – boring! – but it’s the existence of bookmakers that means prize money is so low at the bottom end many trainers possibly need to land gambles to retain owners and make ends meet.
And does the BHA really want the trainers at the bottom end to even exist?
One trainer last year claimed the BHA would prefer what they saw as a more USA-style structure where there were a smaller number of “super barns,” housing all the horses in training.
A lot less paperwork and a sport that would be a lot easier to administer at a national level.
Could it be part of a tacit long-term strategy to drive all small yards out of the game?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I didn’t look at this race so can’t comment on the opposition and if this gamble was merited but looking at Aces Full’s profile, he’s only had one run for the current trainer and owner where he was reported to have made a noise back in October which was his first run in 500 odd days anyway. I don’t think it would be fair to suggest the trainer or owner have done anything untoward given they’ve only had him since last August. If the horse is showing them something at home what’s wrong with having that knowledge? This isn’t a handbrake/stopping jobbie we see every day of the week.
Lafan outrun his odds the run before his first race for new trainer
Stewards Report
“At the request of the Integrity Department of the British Horseracing Authority, the trainer of LAFAN (IRE) was interviewed by the Stewards before this race and asked to provide information regarding the selection of the race for the gelding, their expectations for today, and the riding instructions given. Following the Stewards enquiry, Brennan’s comments were noted and the matter referred to the BHA Integrity Department for further investigation.”
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
On paper Lafan had a fair chance of winning the race, a handicap full of poor horses.. Think the bookies priced it up wrong
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
“given they’ve only had him since last August.”
Tbh, this doesn’t for me resonate quite the same way it might do if it was “since last week” or even “since last month.”
They’ve had the horse the better part of a year now.
“If the horse is showing them something at home what’s wrong with having that knowledge?”
I’d say this is true enough, inasmuch as if a horse is simply working better all of a sudden, is that really any different to having an unraced animal who is working well and betting on it accordingly?
But what is the truth here?
I see a horse who ran to a respectable Irish Point rating of 86 first time out despite a bad mistake at the last, and had then shown a glimmer of promise despite gigantic SPs under rules at Naas and Cork before disappointing its last two starts in Ireland.
It’s then pulled up at Stratford, where the trainer reported it made a respiratory noise, and it was dropped from 95 that day to 90 today, a mark you’d think on its debut Irish Point effort it might have been competitive off today if, that is, you could ignore everything that had happened to it since.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"My own horse, Eagle Court ran second at Wolves on Monday, beaten by a horse trained by Ollie Sangster, his first ever winner. Said horse had three previous runs this year, last of 8, 7th of 9 and 8th of 12. His official trainer for those runs was Sean Curran. Despite that modest form, he was sent off 100/30 fav having been 8/1 when the first bookies prices were issued on Sunday evening.
So I’ll be very interested in following this case.
I sympathise with connections who manifestly run their exposed handicapper on its merits every time.
Their form figures are never short of 2s, 3s and 4s, but they keep bumping into horses which look like they’ve previously been running for a mark or running to return to a past winning mark.
Part of racing’s Runyonesque charm you philosophically sign up for whenever you have a bet, or an indicator of levels of integrity so low they simply wouldn’t be tolerated in any other sport?
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Agree Lafan did have previous form that entitled him to win. Nevertheless, it must be galling for Curran’s team to see another gambled on horse bolt up when they were not able to run.
To be honest, I am not sure what to make of it all. I do not particularly like seeing betting plots put one over punters. On the other hand, such plots have been part of racing for years and – as Curran implied – they are now as good as a necessity for small stables to keep going.
I have never been entirely convinced that a betting coup involving a horse with no form puts off punters from racing because they think the sport is “dodgy”. The betting shop punters will still be there the next day. Half of them always grumble that the game is bent anyway!
Then there is the question of where is the line between playing the system and cheating? A high profile Irish trainer is often referred to as “shrewd”. I think we know what that means!
All good points, IMO, CAS.
All I’d say is that while I think existing older punters accept it as “part of the game,” younger punters – who nowadays have a great many sports betting alternative opportunities to choose from – might be less inclined to stick at betting on the horses if they come to feel the horse they are considering backing in the Class 6 at wherever might not be trying as hard as Man City could be relied upon to be trying against Bayern Munich last night.
The world is changing.
That said, I entirely agree that in the UK the price of the fascination of fixed odds betting (compared to the full pari-mutuel monopolies overseas) is prize money so low at the bottom end smaller yards probably have to land a few gambles each year just to balance the books and keep owners happy.
I have limited sympathy for bookmakers making huge profits from racing but crying foul when plots seem to occur, but sadly they’re not the only victims – all the punters who used the form book in good faith to arrive at their losing bet suffer too.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Snooker has had its fair share of match/frame fixing allegations over the past year
Football I believe have the odd dodgy betting patterns on things like a throw on in the first 10 seconds every now and again
Cricket with the odd wide thrown in on a certain over etc
I doubt any sport is squeaky clean but Racing doesn’t have the same opportunity’s to spot fix ie betting on last out of the stalls or something daft like thatGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I don’t think the comparison to football is relevant really, unless they are going to start putting lead weights in the Manchester City players jockstraps the next time they play Southampton.
“Younger punters…might be less inclined to stick at betting on the horses if they come to feel the horse they are considering backing in the Class 6 at wherever might not be trying as hard as Man City”.
True – but how many younger punters are betting on Class 6 handicaps at Wolverhampton?
When I was watching Dundalk last night, Jess Stafford on RTV said after the 3 year old maiden that the second favourite was given “an educational ride”.
The horse would not have beaten the O’Brien trained favourite. And battle hardened betting shop punters know horses are “not knocked about” on debut. But I assume plenty of people must have backed the horse, perhaps including “younger punters”. Would they be pleased to hear they had done their money on a horse in those circumstances?
I know Jess Stafford meant no harm but perhaps racing has to be careful about the language it uses. Where is the line between an “educational ride” and running to conceal the full extent of a horse’s ability? Has a horse that gets backed on handicap debut and bolts up after three quiet runs in maidens merely been educated up to then?
I’d think golf is probably the nearest sport to squeaky clean as you can get in relation to betting. I suppose you could imagine a scenario where in a lowly European Event, such as the Czech Open, you could get a player or two close to having to return to qualifying school, fixing the result of a two or three ball, but that would mean the amounts staked would have the alarm bells ringing and lead to a refusal to payout plus a potentially career ending investigation. I suppose players may use a tourney to ready themselves for a major but they are still trying – I seem to recall Nick Price winning in the weeks before and after one of his major victories.
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