Barney Curley tells the story of one of horse racings biggest betting coups at Bellewstown racecourse in 1975. Yellow Sam's jockey, Michael Furlong, also features.
He also robs the punters too, if they back one of his horses but dont know hes 'running it down the field', then hes more culpable. Bookmakers rob you through prices, not cheating like Curley did
@@Loganwolfen He also robs punters in another way. He runs down the form of his smokey to get the best possible handicap [ not to mention betting odds ] for a targeted race. So that the general betting public, which evaluates things based on a combination of form and fluctuating prices, are given to other starters in the race specifically other than his smokey. The rigged form and rigged betting market falsely shows that no one wants his smokey, so thus they invariably do their money on these other far more likely runners.
Barney was the most feared gambler in Britain when I was growing up. If you saw one of his being backed, you knew it had a big chance. He is a legend of the game, one of racing’s greatest characters.
Speaks volumes to Barneys character that he could raise 300 people, all off whom he could trust.. Make no mistake nobody watching this programme could do the same ! I was more interested in the mercenary Sean Graham ! What a killer eh ! Makes sure Barney knows not to place bets in his shops so that he gets no liabilities and then with the knowledge he cant lose in the coup, sets about trying to do as much damage as possible to his rival bookmakers by extending the odds from 10-1 out to 20-1 via 14s and 16s The man took no hostages
Sean Graham had a great bit of info which he used to his own benefit. And getting 300 people that he could trust was amazing. I'd probably get about 50 quid on and then I'd have ran out of trustees!
@@gavinblack450 Don't forget Barney owed Sean Graham money, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in on it too. Barney would never admit to it because it would have been the only part of the scheme which would have been illegal.
This man was meticulous in his planning and carried it out with military precision, good to see anyone get one over on the bookies cos its usually the other way about. He was not only a good trainer but also did a lot of charity in Africa which puts him way above most mortals in my opinion.
The horse still has to jump the fences and not get brought down by a falling horse or get hampered by a riderless one, everything is in the bookies favour and yet they still cry like babies when someone like Barney turns them over, anyone who has sympathy for the bookies is either a bookie or a family member, I actually went to see the racecourse many years after the coup just to see where it all happened and yes it’s a well out of the way place very rural in those days and you could see why Barney chose it
Remember early nineties a horse trained by curley in a bumper went from 33/1 to 6/4 in 5 mins got him at 12s won by a distance lol never seen a gamble like it . Most people in that bookies were on it.
A Curley horse in the nineties wouldn’t have opened 33s didn’t you just watch the vt?Bookies would open up as short as possible on his runners as opposed to large as not to get caught out.
Sean Graham was in on it, he extended the odds, the rest followed suit blindly and got caught. I'm sure curly most likely paid him a percentage of the winnings
Don’t think he was in on it, he just told him not to use his shops when he pulled off whatever he was pulling off, the horse drifted naturally on the day as no racecourse punters were interested.
oh barney i mind 20 years ago i bet 20 pound on this horse of his it was 14/1 it came up on the screen in bookies sorry cashier says that horse betting odds is paused now its not 14/1 i says i come bk half hour it was now 4/5 odds i never backed it bad price it won with a distance he was a bent trainer bookies hated him simple they were simply terrified of him
I was a legal bookmaker in South Africa for 15 years. I find it amazing that the explanations of betting odds are so crap that most laymen still have no idea how the odds (rightfully and crime-free) are determined. Still, the punter is kept in the dark. Amazing!!!
ITV Racing in the UK have recently started displaying the bookies overround percentage pre-race alongside horses odds, sitting at well above 20%, usually 30+. I'd bet more money on the fact that punters have no idea what that means than I ever have on a horse
Nowadays its simply the Betfair lay price plus 10%.Nothing more and nothing less. Youll see horses firm from 10/1 into 3/1 back out to 14/1 in low betfair liquidity markets.
Great story and believe or not I met and gave Barney a 7/2 winner a 2 year old from Paul Cole at Newbury racecourse many years ago now but whether he backed it or not who knows🧐 you have to respect the man for all his good work for charities etc and Barney was a decent human being so RIP to him and leaving his mark on the world 🙏
It’s all well and good having a coup but cheating by running the horse down the field many times is just criminal on the public who might have backed him in the races he wasn’t ever trying in. It is disgusting that this curly is praised for his cheating.
Full of admiration for this man , anyone who thinks he did wrong just think about how much the bookmakers rips punters off for . He did what anyone would do if they could awesome Barney
Its a great story, but anything could have happened, unseated rider, fell, ran out, all sorts of things could have happened, and even last week races 2 and 3 at Newcastle or L:ingfield were won by horses 100-1 and the 125-1.
That’s why it’s a gamble. All he could do was have the horse ready. As Barney said himself, you don’t know if somebody else is planning a coup in the same race, whether he’ll fall. Crazy game, but that’s why this coup became the stuff of legend.
Straight out of a Dick Francis novel wonderful betting coup to match The Druid s Lodge Confederacy truly great punter generous caring man x I love betting coups landed and a bit of skulduggery. x
Still happens today. I remember a race last year with a 1-3 favourite and a newcomer who was 14/1 on first show. Just before the off the newcomer went to 8/1. The newcomer won. The two horses had different trainers but the same owner. Becareful with your money.
It happens all the time, the best time to back a horse is just before the off in a betting shop especially first time outers, watch the market then get on.
The bookmakers golden ticket is the culture of punters in which their subconscious and conscious mind is focused on the betting and not on the readiness of the animal. Uneducated Desperate Coupled with information overload These are the winning ingredients for bookmakers. Study the animal not the form of the animal. The value lies in the ability to be patient and to find a window in which the horse you identify has a 70% probability to run in the money within 3 runs of identifying it. You Wait! You Win! The bookies weakness is incorrect pricing. Dont be price driven be outcome driven.
*What was Lester Like as a person, did he sign autographs, was he popular with the other jockeys and trainers, in the USA there are jockeys with 5500 to 8000 wins, are these American Legends better, was Lester tight with money, did he ever buy a Rolls Royce, was his wife happy, so many unanswered questions, rumours are circulating he was not a pleasant or nice guy to know. In fact, hated amongst fellow Jockeys.*
@@darrenremington6422 When fellows jockeys and trainers won't speak to you 'somethings up'. He rang trainers and owners up to ask to ride their well fancied mounts. and the dismounted jockey who lost the ride never forgot or forgave him. The book is in preparation about the hidden life of Piggot, read it when it is published. I prefer Barney Curley to Piggot.
@@SherwoodArrow l know where you are coming from, but it still does not take away he was a brilliant jockey, as was pat eddery, taken way too soon by the demon drink 🙏🙏🙏
Horse Racings Golden Rule ( Said Too This One) Seasons Ago On Epsom Downs( By Old School Crew) ( Bet Too Lose And Win If You Can) No more Said👏Pipers Son One ☝️ Just Watched( Ernie Johnson On Rheingold In Thee Epsom Derby) Pipped By You Know Who☝️😂👏👏👏
@@williammitchell9974 *The betting odds returns are fixed, how can the winner of a 10 to 28 horse race come in at 6-4, William, here's some good advice: Before every race watch the horses parade in the parade ring, study the jockeys' care & attention and intensity, compare him to the other jockeys, look for the carefree "I am NOT going to win Jocks and scrub them from your selections", you will end up with two "Somethings is going down today on this horse bets, pick the best, or back both. Watch the jockeys, follow them out as they enter the course to lead out, watch the riders, some flog the horse during the first 50 yards to the START-stalls. Your man is super-careful, I have seen this system produce 5 winners and two 2nds in an 8-card race at York. Respects BOB 14--12-22.*
