Favourite punting stories

In response to a request on another thread, post your own personal good fortune, bad luck or your favourite betting coup stories you have heard

I'll kick off with the Barney Curley, Yellow Sam story, believe it's in his book but this is taken from Irish Independant Newspapers website.

The betting coup that catapulted Barney Curley into the headlines and controversy occurred at the tiny, once-a-year Co Meath track at Bellewstown in June 1975. The financially beleaguered Curley desperately needed a ``touch''. He owned a slow, but steady, horse called Yellow Sam, which was well handicapped in a bad race at Bellewstown, and he planned his scam with the precision of a military operation ... or, to use a better analogy (Curley's own), a bank robbery.

He spent weeks plotting and planning, and by race day had an army of `layers' spread throughout the country, each poised to place a bet of anything between £50 and £300 in hundreds of off-course bookies shops 15 minutes before the 3pm start of the race. In all, he was going to bet in excess of £15,000, the last available cash he possessed.

The important factor in the gamble was to ensure that Yellow Sam started at 20/1 or better, and once the off-course bookies realised money was piling on Yellow Sam, they'd be on to the course bookies to lay off their liabilities, which would cause Yellow Sam's starting price to tumble.

But Bellewstown had been chosen for one crucial fact there was only one public telephone at the track and a close pal of Barney's, Benny O'Hanlon, was instructed, under pain of death, to get on that telephone at 2.30pm and keep it busy until just after the off.

Barney knew that if his very recognisable figure was seen at the course, the bookies would realise something was up and slash the price of his horse to 2/1 or worse. He crept into the centre of the course and watched the race concealed in a whin bush. And what a race!

Yellow Sam safely negotiated the 13 hurdles and won easily by two-and-a-half lengths. In all, Barney collected £300,000, which in today's terms is the equivalent of £1.4 million. Others believe that his take was considerably more than that. Barney insists there was nothing illegal or immoral about what he did he argues that he simply outwitted the system and took advantage of unique circumstances.

A forum member left £16000 lying in a bag in a hotel resturant in ireland,after a successful dog race

Many moons ago, as youngsters, before the advent of casinos in SA, we played a soccer match in Swaziland.

13 of us, 9 in a mini-bus and 4 in my little Toyota, left Pretoria the Friday to play our invitational match the Saturday, to return the Sunday.

After our match, the drinking started. Knowing our discipline was on the wane, being in a casino coupled with the euphoria of our win and alcohol, we collectively gave 100 bucks to our most disciplined mate for safe-keeping (Sunday's breakfast and petrol).

We awoke late on the Sunday, heads throbbing, tongues parched, to find out the others in the mini-bus had left. I asked my mate,Jackie,for the money,only to be find out that in his drunken state, he had blown it.

Here we were, in Swaziland, hungry, hung-over with no gas to get back home.

We went to the stadium where we played our match and found a couple of the opposing team practising (i would think so, losing to a bunch like us). We sold them various items at next to nothing to help us get back home, including the leather jacket my dad had got me from Cyprus.

We ate, filled the car and started our sorry trip to the border. I had about R3 change and swerved left back to the casino, telling my accomplices, "we not done yet". I got a few 50 cent coins and inserted 3 into the slots. Nothing happened !
Placed the last 3 in and won about R20. Off to the blackjack table (R2 minimum), sat down full of hope (had to get that jacket back). The Gods smiled at us and within an hour an a half i had made a grand profit.

Off to the stadium, bought back our belongings at double the price, everyone got back what they had lost plus profit and headed back to SA with a song in our hearts.

Thats when i knew, there would be no turning back, the punting was in the blood !

There's a great little film in that story Cuckoo - well done!

my father having given gajima the money to bet a dog for him roaring home the winner, gajima turning to him and said" did you bet that one dad " i will never forget the sight of dad chasing after him going to throttle him. the name of the hound was orloff.

gajima getting stuck in the turnstiles at musselburgh was another one

Fiurteen years ago i was running in a P/6,NO FRACTIONAL BETTING,at Kenilworth and going into the last leg i had 9 of the 11 runners for an outlay of R86.The two runners left out were both carryover runners .The commentator called my horses throughout the race and i already had friends shaking my hand with 100m to go ,as they hit the line he called a horse for the first time as it flew up to win by a head.Yip,a full carryover of R492000.As for me ,well i puked in the car park before heading home to tell the wife and hear her say "always one leg out,i dont know why you even bother playing the horses".Needless to say she has been my ex-wife for thirteen years now !!A true story, i promise.Since then i have won many just short of the 100k mark, but my target still eludes me.

Catastrophic punting experience for me was in Dancing Brave's Arc year, I was school leaving age and me and my best mate were convinced Dancing Brave would win the Arc, we planned the biggest punt of our young lives weeks in advance but a couple of weeks before got greedy and decided we would have a double.

We put the Brave for the Arc with Charlie Nelson's Minstrella in the big 2yo race at Newmarket (thats Nkt UK and not Nkt R.I.P.) a couple of weeks before. Minstrella was travelling like a winner but got a bump from Forest Flower who was first past the post. Forest Flower survived the stewards enquiry and the objection and needless to say Dancing Brave sluiced in at Longchamp.

Only a few weeks later when reading Sporting Life and the tributes to Dancing Braves great win in the best Arc field I can recall were still being penned did it hit home even harder. Minstrella and connections were awarded the race on appeal.

just been informed by the forum member that it was more than £16000 pmsl..also he is still upset with me for gambling his dog from 5/1 down to 2/1(on course at a london dog track)not known to me he had done the edinburgh betting shops and was left with s.p stil, pmsl

Not like no2son to get SP !!!!! I remember same forum member complaining to me that someone bet Dream World from 16/1 into 7/1 first run and he only got 7/1.

By the way Ian, it was you that got stuck in the turnstiles at Musselburgh, I remember it well, including your sister disowning you. You were so black and blue that you were the inspiration for the purple teletubby.

Years ago I took a PA at a Newmarket night meeting. A big fan of 'Figgie' I bankered him in 4 legs. In the remaining three legs I went 2x2x7 ( Where I went 2 horses. I again included the South American. In the last leg, a field of 12 and a particularly weak bunch of maidens. I left him out as his horse had no form to speak of ).

The perm cost R280 ( x 10 ).

End result I cruised the first six legs, doubling up once.

Going into the last leg and running x 20 by SEVEN runners, I was thrilled with the minimum div of R 212.

Only when the betting was displayed was I made aware of the 2 scratchings. Happy, that I didn't have either and confident with SEVEN runners out of a field of 10. I started studying the next days Scottsville card.

End result...yip....I grew more and more pale as the race progressed. ' Figgie ' won, followed by 2 DOGS.

Out I went with 7 of 10 in the PA !

final dividend = R 1874.00

deenside pretty was the name of the greyhound hibernia alludes to,she won the race before the irish derby won by tina marina,we had a few quid on her at 8s,7s and 6s all the cash was put together until the average price was worked out,however my compadre left the cash under the breakfast table at the hotel never saw a car move so fast after we discovered what he had done,on getting back to the hotel we found the bag where he had left it