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I always find stories about betting coups interesting, not just for their planning and execution but also the descriptions given to the various characters taking part. Come on forumites give me a bit of excitement and describe your finest day when you had the likes of Barry Dennis in tears.
KI may be repeating this, but as you quote Barry Dennis, I can`t resist. I had a lovely horse called Light Dancer with Liam Codd many years ago . We were 33/1 in a five horse hurdle race and really fancied it . We had not had it right for many years but it had at one time been spoken of for the Derby.
He won by 25 lengths and was bet at the death from 33/1 to 11/1 . Theres a lot more to the story than this but Barry was squealing.
Two weeks later the horse won at Newcastle and followed up two weeks after that,up a few grades at Kempton.
I still have the recording of the race in which Lord Oaksey commented in the last furling to JF ," This horse is winning like one of Pipes John. We didn`t look at this one" JF replied ,we may not have John, but if I `m not mistaken Mr Owen and Mr Codd did, as this horse has won three times in a month and the money was certainly down today once again.
Under the radar you might say.
Lovely stuff, Roddy. As happened to me many years ago when I fancied a 100/6 outsider in a dog race, did you find that as you race along the line to spread your bets amongst several bookies that by the time you get to the fourth or fifth one the price has already shortened dramatically. How do they manage to convey the move so quickly because I never saw any tic-tac movements? Are they psychic?
KI may be repeating this, but as you quote Barry Dennis, I can`t resist. I had a lovely horse called Light Dancer with Liam Codd many years ago . We were 33/1 in a five horse hurdle race and really fancied it . We had not had it right for many years but it had at one time been spoken of for the Derby.
He won by 25 lengths and was bet at the death from 33/1 to 11/1 . Theres a lot more to the story than this but Barry was squealing.You really must have fancied it Roddy, 18 lbs out of the weights!
I’m always interested in what happens to horses when their racing days are over, so what happened to Light Dancer and is he still alive?I’d been having a particularly bad day in the bookies, came down to the last dog race of the day, think it was the 5-27 at Romford. Had a big tricast that looked sure to cop until the very last stride as the four dog faltered to let the one dog claim third. Penniless, with a week left to payday, I did the only thing I could do, I picked up as many little blue pens as I could fit in my hand and ran like buggery.
So, DJ, you’re the guy I used to see standing outside Woolworth’s shouting, "Here you are Mums, get your kids’ pens for school, twenty pence a dozen. Cheap at half the price!"
K
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I may be repeating this, but as you quote Barry Dennis, I can`t resist. I had a lovely horse called Light Dancer with Liam Codd many years ago . We were 33/1 in a five horse hurdle race and really fancied it . We had not had it right for many years but it had at one time been spoken of for the Derby.
He won by 25 lengths and was bet at the death from 33/1 to 11/1 . Theres a lot more to the story than this but Barry was squealing.You really must have fancied it Roddy, 18 lbs out of the weights!
I’m always interested in what happens to horses when their racing days are over, so what happened to Light Dancer and is he still alive?Check its form! even worse, I’d call for a stewards on that one something not right there.
Oh they called for the steward alright. I have all the Sporting Life cuttings for the time. All the punters on my side and all the establishment on the other.Went on for three weeks or more . We used to have a box of hats Tommy Cooper style and must have visited every betting shop in the Country. No more than £10 a bet. We had nothing on ,on the course,but when they got wind they blew it back. They delayed the start and in that delay time they reduced it from 33 to 11. That cost me a lot of money. Not fair.
I may be repeating this, but as you quote Barry Dennis, I can`t resist. I had a lovely horse called Light Dancer with Liam Codd many years ago . We were 33/1 in a five horse hurdle race and really fancied it . We had not had it right for many years but it had at one time been spoken of for the Derby.
He won by 25 lengths and was bet at the death from 33/1 to 11/1 . Theres a lot more to the story than this but Barry was squealing.You really must have fancied it Roddy, 18 lbs out of the weights!
I’m always interested in what happens to horses when their racing days are over, so what happened to Light Dancer and is he still alive?Unfortunately he was put down at Musselburgh on that last meeting before Christmas. Struck into himself and sliced right through the tendon.
- Total Posts 17716
Roddy you said Not Fair?
Neither’s price rigging
Did the same thing myself 20 years ago and Mecca were quick to point out they had the right to settle the bet at 7/1 which was written in their rules at the time. We had 5 quid and 10 quid ew bets all over the shop at 33/1 and 25/1 and some at SP which turned out to be 16/1.Luckily Mecca paid up after a lot of moaning but really it’s a huge risk as the chances are you won’t get paid anything like you expect.
If you rig the odds your breaking the rules and if they refuse to pay it will go to arbitration and you will lose. Your only defence is to say you never put all those tenners on and their defence is "then why the hell are you here?"
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The Gay Future coup springs to mind………
My claim to fame is I was there with Maggie Bell and Don Nolan. Tychee won on the same card…..check it Rory
. Gay Future lathered in sweat in the parade ring (Soap Suds) stood out like a sore thumb during the race……was like Istabraq taking on selling platers.Should have been called Murphy’s Joke though, not Murphy’s Stroke
Many years ago (at Hurst Park if I recall) a very good horse called THAMES TRADER was entered in a five runner race, the biggest penalty kick in the history of racing. Sporting Life forecast 1-10, a gift!! I gathered together every penny I could, my friends chipped in, I borrowed a bit and went down to the bookies with £100 and some change, a lot of monet back then… early 1960s.
When the betting opened Thames Trader was 1-28 not the 1-10 forecast, the other four were all on offer at 33-1.
A bet to nothing, I thought. Forget Thames Trader.. I put £12.50 EW on one of the others, took the price, then wrote out a second £12.50 EW on the next while a pal put £12.50 on the third, all at the board price. When I went back up to the counter to back the last runner the bookie twigged and refused the bet.SWEAT ON !!!
Luckily I did get the second and landed my bet to nothing but it was a very nereve racking few minutes
I should have added for the younger members Thames Trader was virtually group class always ridden by Lester Piggott, as honest as the day was long…the horse that is, Mr Taxman, if you are reading this…. in fact when he went hurdling Lester Piggott took out a jumps licence so he could ride it in The Champion Hurdle.
He did win over hurdles on the horse but I don’t recall if it actually ran in The Champion, can anyone else remember?Hello,
In January/February? 1990, a horses handled by a little known Welsh trainer, Mr Griffiths, won a Cheltenham chase, a handicap I believe, at 11/1ish. I backed the noble beast, NORTON’S COIN.
Come the Festival, there was Norton’s Coin in the Gold Cup headed by Desert Orchid, odds on if I remember rightly.
On the morning of the race I carried out my usual ritual of trawling through all the bookies pages on the Teletext, making copious notes of my fancied horses’ odds and who were offering them. NC being one of my "outside" selections. I had to consider it, NC had won for me earlier in the year!!
Ladbrokes stood out from the general 100/1 on offer. They were offering 200/1!!!
I didn’t have a Ladbrokes telephone account ( I cannot recall having many accounts in those days).
There was no Ladbrokes office in my area, so it involved travelling by car to Stretford, Manchester to place my hefty bet at those super odds. Luckily no drink had been taken, so off I went.
On entering the shop I went straight up to the desk and placed £2.00 each way on NC @ 200/1. The girl behind the counter giggled as she patronising commented, "Good Luck".
I wandered around the shop and again approached the counter with a ticket for a further £2.00 each way @ 200/1. This time the fat settler or manager took my substantial bet, "You will clear us out if this one comes up, sir", he said as if talking to a four year old.
My final bet was a £1.00 each way wager, again, on the Welsh ousider. This was met by shaking of heads, whispered opinions and a muttered, "We will have to drop the price on this one to 100/1" remark accompanied by knowing laughter
Slips pocketed, I left the building with a "I’ll be Back" grimace.Come the race, a superb ride by Graham McCourt saw NC come home ahead, just, of Toby Tobias….SP? 100/1!!!!
substantially less than my 200/1.The following day I arrived at Ladbrokes, ambled up to the counter and handed one of my tickets….."Oh! it is you, Well Done!!" screeched the young lady, as if she was addressing a two year old who had accomplished the feat of his first toilet deposit.
I collected my monies and wandered round the shop. After what I considered a suitable amount of time had elapsed, I sauntered back up the counter. "How can I help you, you lucky boy" said the inane assistant.
I handed in slip number two.
"Again!!!" she shouted, looking about her for a witness to this remarkable event.
She retreated to the back of the counter to show a colleague the bet, and together they read it. This puzzled me, as it was identical to the previous slip I had given her. For some strange reason she had forgotten how to read English in between times.
This time the colleague approached me. This lady was senior I believe. The previous assistant simply had Maureen on her name badge, this woman had MRS somebody on hers!
"Well, Well, Well" she sighed.
What I couldn’t understand was why she was staring at the slip for so long?? It only had a maximum of 10 words on the ‘effin thing.
With another sigh that seemed to go on forever, I thought she was going to deflate balloon-like, she handed over the monies.
Another self satisfying stroll around the shop-back to the table of dosh, and my final ticket was thrust upon the apparently illiterate couple.
This time, "You will have to wait for the manager"
Within five minutes a rotund middle aged gentleman bounced into the shop. The settler/manager from the day before.
Conferred with Maureen and Mrs Somebdy, turned to me and said, "What’s going on here then?"
I started to explain that that it appears the horse I had selected to win a certain race had indeed won at a very healthy price!
"You put three bets on the same horse then?"
"Yes", I replied shamefully.
"Why?" he aked
With all the dignity I could muster, I said "I don’t know"
This retort confused him so much he, and his female cohorts collated all my slips, paid and unpaid at this point and proceeded to read them AGAIN..
"Yep, all the same writing", said the Ms.The Frank Cannon look alike approached me again, I could see in his chubby face he wanted to ask me a question, but the words failed to utter from his mouth.
Back to the settler’s seat, some scrawl on my last ticket and I received my final monies from a now smiling Ms. Mrs went to make tea.I left the shop thinking to myself what a strange name Sirrel is.
regards,
doyley
. Gay Future lathered in sweat in the parade ring (Soap Suds) 
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