A secret syndicate of 100 punters, a scam months in the planning. The audacious 1975 sting orchestrated by Barney Curley, who died recently aged 81, was just the start of an astonishing story.
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Barney Curley, racing punter on a grand scale who masterminded a legendary betting coup – obituary
Alongside his professional gambling career, he managed Irish bands and trained in Newmarket, encouraging jockeys including Frankie Dettori
27 May 2021 • 3:19pm
Barney Curley in 1984, two years after he moved to England and took out a licence to train
Credit: Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Barney Curley, who has died aged 81, pulled off one of the most celebrated betting coups in the history of the Turf.
It happened on June 25 1975 at Bellewstown, an obscure racecourse in Co Meath in the Irish Republic. Even more obscure was the horse that, at 20-1, landed the money, an indifferent hurdler called Yellow Sam.
THE late Irvinestown native Barney Curley has been described as a hero to the gambler and a scourge to the bookies. Most famous for his betting coups in 1975, 2010 and 2014, the late 81-year-old – who passed away from cancer on Sunday – was also a well-respected horse trainer and philanthropist. Mr. Curley, who abandoned his training to become a priest, won millions of pounds through his betting coups, but he was much more than a professional gambler. The 1975 betting coup at Bellewstown Races saw the unfancied Yellow Sam win at odds of 20-1, with Mr. Curley getting friends across Ireland to head to the bookies to lay large bets.
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