BARNEY Curley’s name will always be remembered for a number of the biggest and best gambles landed in the history of racing.
His genius coups stung the bookies for millions at a time, some before the days of mobile phones and the internet. Whether a fan or not, it took some serious planning.
Yellow Sam (1975)
Curley’s 1975 jackpot gamble has gone down in racing folklore and will continue to do so for decades to come.
It involved a phonebox (remember them), a horse named after Curley’s father and an average handicap hurdle at Bellewstown Racecourse in Ireland.
It was a move that announced Curley’s arrival into the big leagues.
His horse, Yellow Sam, was available at a general 20-1 with the majority of firms on the morning of the race.
The money started to come for the horse, but here’s where the clever part started.
Curley’s men across the land were sent to every bookie in their area. ‘Get on’ was the command, and get on they did.
But Bellewstown was out in the sticks and in the seventies, the only way the bookies could contact those on course was the famous phonebox.
Curley being Curley ensured one of his men was in the box all morning. His worker was supposedly on the phone to a dying aunt and wouldn’t leave. That way the bookies were oblivious to what was unfolding around them.
The horse had shown little to no form before, but a change of ground worked wonders and Yellow Sam duly cruised home unchallenged.
Curley and his men won a fortune, rumoured to be around the £1.5 million mark. Not bad.
The bookies were not impressed and some eventually paid him out in single pound notes, stuffed into carrier bags.
Close, but still a cigar (2010)
Yellow Sam’s win may be more notorious, but in May 2010 Curley was back and almost cost the bookies £20 million.
Four horses of low ability were plotted around the country – three trained by Curley and one formerly-trained by the man.
Odds of 25-1, 8-1 and 7-2 were soon taken about three winners at Brighton, Wolverhampton and Towcester. The fourth runner actually lost at Wolverhampton.
But Curley was still in the money. In fact, that’s an understatement, he won more here than he did at Bellewstown.
How much is a mystery, but he famously said: “Nobody will ever win as much on horse racing, this century.”
Had the fourth horse won too, bookies would have paid out an estimated £20 million.
But even with just the three doing the business, some bookies refused to pay out and some simply could not afford to. Curley was forced to go to court in some cases.
The Curley Legacy (2014)
Four trainers, all with links to Barney Curley, sent out four horses to win at three different tracks – with accumulated odds over 9,000-1.
Morning prices of 10-1 (Eye Of The Tiger), 6-1 (Seven Summits), 20-1 (Indus Valley) and 7-1 (Low Key) were quickly snapped up and an estimated £2 million was placed by early punters.
The horses had been kept in the shadows for a while, not seen for between 225 and 700 days. But all were geared up perfectly for their win.
It was a Curley classic without the bells and whistles, but one that stung the bookies even when they thought they’d seen the back of him.
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Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
