Gay Future Racehorse

20 moments that shook Irish Sport Gay Future was the racehorse at the centre of an attempted coup by an Irish betting syndicate in Great Britain in 1974. The plot involved a Scottish trainer named Antony Collins initially presenting a poorly-performing horse at his stables as if it were the real Gay Future. This lowered the expectations of reviewers, and hence raised the betting odds on offer, when the real horse was entered in a race at Cartmel in Cumbria.

On the same day, two additional horses trained by Collins were entered in earlier races at other courses, but these were withdrawn shortly before the races. Syndicate members had used bookmakers away from the courses to place a large number of double and triple wagers, which involved Gay Future in combination bets with these additional horses. The last-minute withdrawals now meant that a large number of bets would roll over onto Gay Future.

As the race start time approached, syndicate accomplices at Cartmel ensured that the long odds (10 to 1) on Gay Future were not lowered by on-course punters. Gay Future won easily, but bookmakers became suspicious at the unusual betting patterns. A follow-up police investigation resulted in syndicate leaders being convicted of attempted fraud, although they received relatively small fines from a sympathetic judge

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Gay
• Future
• Racehorse
• 20
• moments
• that
• shook
• Irish
• Sport

[dubcindub15]

2.35 Guy paying with a 20 euro note, very advanced for 1974, well done RTE!!

[plumpton444]

these boys are heros of mine, great job lads !!

[FIST2k8]

I should add the majority of bookies actually paid them out

[FIST2k8]

They messed up.Holiday weekend rules allowed you to enter the same horse at 2 meetings. If the ground wasn't ok for you at 1 meeting you ran at the other. If you named the wrong meeting on any bet it was deemed a non runner. O'Grady a well known trainer could have called round in the morning,asked non supecting trainers which meeting their horse was running at and backed them with Gay Future knowing they were going elsewhere. Using 3 horses from the same yard they were doomed from the start.

[MrMode72]

Houses at the bottom of my road built by Tony Murphy a pity the film wasnt shown before Cheltenham,

[MrWhosurdaddy09]

If Mr Collins was of sane mind, at the very least he should have made any attempt to remove the two non runners from his field. clown

[mtenor]

any chance someone can post full movie that would be great?!!

[eltincolman]

I know the pilot Mr TA Jones and his Family..........what a bit of Craic...........video man if you need inside I will consider an intro

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[ciananal]

go on the cork mafia

[djbillybop]

Great move its called Murphy's Stroke,

The music is from Bugsy Malone