RACING Payment Refused After £10m Betting Coup

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30482, 2 July 1964, Page 4

RACING Payment Refused After £10m Betting Coup

(N Z.P.A .-Reuter—COpg right)

LONDON, July 1.

Britain’s off-course book-makers decided last night to make Ino pay-out on a greyhound race today after an attempted £lom betting coup.

A meeting of leading S.P. book-makers agreed to refund all bets on the race at an afternoon meeting at Dagenham, Essex.

They said in a statement there had been “an attempt to defraud bookmakers throughout the country of an estimated £lom.”

Payment was stopped immediately after the 4.5 p.m. race, won by a greyhound named Buckwheat at 2/1, with Handsome Lass second at 9/2. The 6/4 on favourite

was unplaced. Tote officials declared a record dividend of £987 Ils 9d for a 2s stake on the forecast of first and second places. There was only one winning ticket sold although 11,757 units were wagered on the race. Irate punters stormed the judge’s box complaining they could not get their bets on because a

group of operators had monopolised all totalisator windows.

The track telephone switchboard was out of order for half an hour from 10 minutes before the race. No incoming calls could be taken or outgoing calls made. Police were immediately called in, but said later:“Our investigations have shown that there is no cause for us to make further inquiries.” After last night’s special meeting of bookmakers the following statement was issued:

“A meeting of the majority of leading S.P. bookmakers and betting-shop proprietors was held at the Victoria Club, London, under the auspices Of the National Sporting League. It was unanimously decided that no payment would be made on all forecast betting staked on the 4.5 race at Dagenham on June 30, and that such bets are void.

“All moneys wagered on the forecast for this race will be refunded. “This decision was unanimously arrived at due to the fact that the public at Dagenham Stadium were physically prevented from placing bets by reason of a concerted plan by a gang who monopolised all the tote windows, thereby influencing the dividend On the forecast. "In normal circumstances there would have been paid a dividend, based on past statistics, of not more than £2. “But in this instance, as a result of a conspiracy, the dividend returned was the fantastic sum of £987. Us 9d. Similar coups have been worked before in Britain. The method is to flood the tote on the track with unlikely combinations, Nocking as many windqws as possible to the general public.. Meanwhile, the more liki'.y forecast combinations are backed in off-course betting offices.