Diamond Geezer
Gone But Not Forgotten
- Joined
- May 2, 2003
- Messages
- 13,884
Bookmakers around the country were yesterday counting the cost of a partially successful betting coup involving the publication of incorrect greyhound racing results in the Racing Post newspaper.
The results of four races at Saturday night's meetings at Reading and Yarmouth were tampered with before publication of yesterday's edition of the paper and resulted in bookmakers in east Yorkshire and London paying out thousands of pounds in incorrect winnings.
However, the unusual pattern of bets placed caused an investigation among layers, most of whom withheld payment.
The newspaper itself has launched an investigation, with the Metropolitan Police being asked to look at the matter.
A statement was last night issued to the Press Association by Alan Byrne
, the Racing Post's editor.
It said: "We have asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the publication of incorrect results for four greyhound races in Monday's Racing Post.
"The results of the races two at Yarmouth on Saturday and two at Reading on the same evening were received correctly from the Press Association. The data for the four races (the names of three winners and one starting price) appears to have been tampered with prior to publication.
"After being alerted by the betting industry to an unusual pattern of betting on the races in question, we conducted an internal investigation this morning. Following completion of that initial investigation, it was decided to inform the Metropolitan Police immediately of our concerns.
"There has never been a similar incident in the 12-year history of the Racing Post. Steps are being taken further to safeguard the integrity of the enormous amount of data on greyhound racing which appears every day in the Racing Post."
Possibly the biggest sufferer was independent layer Janet Alexander, who trades under the name Ted Hornby Racing in the small coastal town of Withernsea, near Hull.
Staff at the tiny shop paid out £2,000 on a £10 treble to a mystery punter who arrived at the premises soon after opening time. Mrs Alexander said: "My manageress checked the results in the Post and thought they were genuine. The bet wasn't unusual to us because being in a seaside town, we have visitors from all over the country and take dog bets at all meetings."
The same bet was attempted at Hulased Rossy Brothers at their shop in Hedon, 14 miles inland from Withernsea.
It is believed the same punter came to collect his "winnings", however, the shop had insufficient funds to pay him out and though asked to return to be paid out, he failed to do so.
Several Coral shops in the Essex area were also targeted in the scam.
Bets on the races were placed in Barking, Dagenham and Romford but staff were alerted when a manager became suspicious.
"The bets were mainly small stakes of between £2.50 and £10 on doubles, trebles and accumulators and we paid out a couple of hundred pounds," said the firm's spokesman Malcolm Palmer.
"But after a conversation with a colleague one of our managers became suspicious and informed head office."
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said the company had laid "a couple of bets" in both Hull and north London, adding: "The problem is that without the Sporting Life there is no way of cross-checking the results at these provincial meetings."
A spokeswoman at the Scotland Yard press office said last night: "Police at Limehouse police station have received an informal allegation of a possible deception. It has not yet been formally reported as a crime."
---------------------------------
POLICE VISIT RACING POST
POLICE yesterday visited the offices of the Racing Post on the first full day of their investigation into an attempted greyhound betting fraud which saw results and starting prices for two minor meetings tampered with prior to publication in the newspaper.
After being called in on Monday by the Racing Post, detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Criminal Investigation Department-based at Limehouse, near the paper's Canary Wharf headquarters-held lengthy talks yesterday with editor Alan Byrne and Mirror Group Newspapers head of security George Page. They were subsequently provided with detailed information from the paper's computer systems.
Detective Sergeant John Williams and Detective Constable Simon Cuthbertson are seeking to establish how four doctored results came to appear in Monday's edition of the Racing Post-and who was behind a series of bets placed on those races.
The attempted coup was discovered early on Monday morning after bookmakers noticed unusual betting patterns on four greyhound races, two at Reading and two at Yarmouth, on Saturday evening
The names of the winners of three of the races, and the starting price of another, had been changed in the greyhound results section of the Post. The results had been transmitted to the paper correctly by the Press Association on Sunday morning
. The tampering took place after that.
New steps have already been taken by the Post to establish further safeguards for the accuracy of starting prices at the minor greyhound meetings.
And Satellite Information Services confirmed yesterday that "within days" it plans to relay results from all greyhound tracks to the country's betting shops on its text service. This service has not previously been available for all meetings, and it means there will be a further source for the betting industry to cross-check results and starting prices.
Yesterday police began to look at the Racing Post's computer records and, in particular, at the log of activity on the electronic files containing the results in question.
They were also given access to Mirror Group security records showing movement on the Racing Post editorial floor on Sunday.
They are now expected to consult additional information technology experts as part of their inquiries and have also begun to study details provided by the Racing Post of the betting shops affected by the scam.
The Racing Post took delivery yesterday of a number of videos which could help establish the identification of the people involved in placing bets on the races in question.
Meanwhile, further evidence has emerged of bookmakers who took bets on the four races. They include a Ladbrokes shop in North Chingford and a Tote shop in Harlow, which paid out pounds 800.
Those two shops are in the heart of the East London/Essex area, where the majority of the suspicious bets were placed. Other than that, there were only three isolated bets in the Hull region.
Some bookmakers faced individual payouts of up to £18,000, but the majority of those who took bets withheld payment. The biggest payout actually made was £2,000 on a £10 treble on the 9.09 race at Reading and the two Yarmouth heats. That was in a shop in the coastal town of Withernsea, near Hull.
Only 300 yards away from the Ladbrokes shop in Chingford, independent bookmakers Keith Little took a bet of a £2 win patent on three of the four races, which would have paid out £538.
Staff, however, refused payment on Monday morning to a man in his mid- 20s who surprised them by his phlegmatic reaction, before driving off in a car with three other men of a similar age.
The races at the centre of the police inquiry are Saturday night's 9.08 and 9.54 at Reading and 9.12 and 9.29 at Yarmouth.
The 9.08 at Reading was won by 6-1 shot Brothers Beech, but the winner as it appeared in the paper was changed to 7-1 chance Kilacquinn. The other heat at Reading went to 11-10 favourite Lisnakill Roy, whose SP was changed in Monday's paper to that of 3-1 favourite.
At Yarmouth, the 9.12 race was won by the 11-10 favourite Granard Class, but the result was changed to show it being won by 4-1 favourite Sand Buster. The 9.29 was won by Decoy Elm at 9-2, but the printed result was altered so the winner was listed as 4-1 shot Security Gaz.
www.thefreelibrary.com
The results of four races at Saturday night's meetings at Reading and Yarmouth were tampered with before publication of yesterday's edition of the paper and resulted in bookmakers in east Yorkshire and London paying out thousands of pounds in incorrect winnings.
However, the unusual pattern of bets placed caused an investigation among layers, most of whom withheld payment.
The newspaper itself has launched an investigation, with the Metropolitan Police being asked to look at the matter.
A statement was last night issued to the Press Association by Alan Byrne
, the Racing Post's editor.
It said: "We have asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the publication of incorrect results for four greyhound races in Monday's Racing Post.
"The results of the races two at Yarmouth on Saturday and two at Reading on the same evening were received correctly from the Press Association. The data for the four races (the names of three winners and one starting price) appears to have been tampered with prior to publication.
"After being alerted by the betting industry to an unusual pattern of betting on the races in question, we conducted an internal investigation this morning. Following completion of that initial investigation, it was decided to inform the Metropolitan Police immediately of our concerns.
"There has never been a similar incident in the 12-year history of the Racing Post. Steps are being taken further to safeguard the integrity of the enormous amount of data on greyhound racing which appears every day in the Racing Post."
Possibly the biggest sufferer was independent layer Janet Alexander, who trades under the name Ted Hornby Racing in the small coastal town of Withernsea, near Hull.
Staff at the tiny shop paid out £2,000 on a £10 treble to a mystery punter who arrived at the premises soon after opening time. Mrs Alexander said: "My manageress checked the results in the Post and thought they were genuine. The bet wasn't unusual to us because being in a seaside town, we have visitors from all over the country and take dog bets at all meetings."
The same bet was attempted at Hulased Rossy Brothers at their shop in Hedon, 14 miles inland from Withernsea.
It is believed the same punter came to collect his "winnings", however, the shop had insufficient funds to pay him out and though asked to return to be paid out, he failed to do so.
Several Coral shops in the Essex area were also targeted in the scam.
Bets on the races were placed in Barking, Dagenham and Romford but staff were alerted when a manager became suspicious.
"The bets were mainly small stakes of between £2.50 and £10 on doubles, trebles and accumulators and we paid out a couple of hundred pounds," said the firm's spokesman Malcolm Palmer.
"But after a conversation with a colleague one of our managers became suspicious and informed head office."
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said the company had laid "a couple of bets" in both Hull and north London, adding: "The problem is that without the Sporting Life there is no way of cross-checking the results at these provincial meetings."
A spokeswoman at the Scotland Yard press office said last night: "Police at Limehouse police station have received an informal allegation of a possible deception. It has not yet been formally reported as a crime."
---------------------------------
POLICE VISIT RACING POST
POLICE yesterday visited the offices of the Racing Post on the first full day of their investigation into an attempted greyhound betting fraud which saw results and starting prices for two minor meetings tampered with prior to publication in the newspaper.
After being called in on Monday by the Racing Post, detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Criminal Investigation Department-based at Limehouse, near the paper's Canary Wharf headquarters-held lengthy talks yesterday with editor Alan Byrne and Mirror Group Newspapers head of security George Page. They were subsequently provided with detailed information from the paper's computer systems.
Detective Sergeant John Williams and Detective Constable Simon Cuthbertson are seeking to establish how four doctored results came to appear in Monday's edition of the Racing Post-and who was behind a series of bets placed on those races.
The attempted coup was discovered early on Monday morning after bookmakers noticed unusual betting patterns on four greyhound races, two at Reading and two at Yarmouth, on Saturday evening
The names of the winners of three of the races, and the starting price of another, had been changed in the greyhound results section of the Post. The results had been transmitted to the paper correctly by the Press Association on Sunday morning
. The tampering took place after that.
New steps have already been taken by the Post to establish further safeguards for the accuracy of starting prices at the minor greyhound meetings.
And Satellite Information Services confirmed yesterday that "within days" it plans to relay results from all greyhound tracks to the country's betting shops on its text service. This service has not previously been available for all meetings, and it means there will be a further source for the betting industry to cross-check results and starting prices.
Yesterday police began to look at the Racing Post's computer records and, in particular, at the log of activity on the electronic files containing the results in question.
They were also given access to Mirror Group security records showing movement on the Racing Post editorial floor on Sunday.
They are now expected to consult additional information technology experts as part of their inquiries and have also begun to study details provided by the Racing Post of the betting shops affected by the scam.
The Racing Post took delivery yesterday of a number of videos which could help establish the identification of the people involved in placing bets on the races in question.
Meanwhile, further evidence has emerged of bookmakers who took bets on the four races. They include a Ladbrokes shop in North Chingford and a Tote shop in Harlow, which paid out pounds 800.
Those two shops are in the heart of the East London/Essex area, where the majority of the suspicious bets were placed. Other than that, there were only three isolated bets in the Hull region.
Some bookmakers faced individual payouts of up to £18,000, but the majority of those who took bets withheld payment. The biggest payout actually made was £2,000 on a £10 treble on the 9.09 race at Reading and the two Yarmouth heats. That was in a shop in the coastal town of Withernsea, near Hull.
Only 300 yards away from the Ladbrokes shop in Chingford, independent bookmakers Keith Little took a bet of a £2 win patent on three of the four races, which would have paid out £538.
Staff, however, refused payment on Monday morning to a man in his mid- 20s who surprised them by his phlegmatic reaction, before driving off in a car with three other men of a similar age.
The races at the centre of the police inquiry are Saturday night's 9.08 and 9.54 at Reading and 9.12 and 9.29 at Yarmouth.
The 9.08 at Reading was won by 6-1 shot Brothers Beech, but the winner as it appeared in the paper was changed to 7-1 chance Kilacquinn. The other heat at Reading went to 11-10 favourite Lisnakill Roy, whose SP was changed in Monday's paper to that of 3-1 favourite.
At Yarmouth, the 9.12 race was won by the 11-10 favourite Granard Class, but the result was changed to show it being won by 4-1 favourite Sand Buster. The 9.29 was won by Decoy Elm at 9-2, but the printed result was altered so the winner was listed as 4-1 shot Security Gaz.
www.thefreelibrary.com
