good post, i follow racing alot and even had a share in one not long ago.

notice alot that horses get punted around 5-10mins before the off giving the bookies less time to react and not letting the cat out of the bag i.e well handicapped, race fit from gallops or been going very well at home..they then go on and win! but horses are not machines and nothing is a dead cert

Good grief! You really are struggling. What does it matter who I worked for?

Not that I'm all that fussed about admitting that I used to work at BETFRED's head office in Warrington.

Technically speaking I was self-employed providing SQL database support for their branches up and down the country. Which means I saw every kind of bet imaginable as well as some which defied imagination.

Like all of the major betting offices they have their own internal security team (with a police liaison usually present at all times). Those guys were ALWAYS busy because corruption and betting go together like hand and glove.

Whilst I wasn't privy to their investigations (you'd need field artillery to get into the high-security unit) discussions with those guys over the kinds of things they are interested in were a common lunchtime activity. Which is why I KNOW every betting office up and down the land would have been investigating betting patterns in the wake of Els' six-putt.

So whilst you and half of this thread might believe in coincidences I can assure you that the big bookies are far more cynical. Indeed, I suspect most people would be shocked at the EXTENT of their cynicism. The truth is ever since the arrival of spread-betting, bet-to-lose etc. etc. corruption has gone through the roof.

Is that it? Or do you want me to draw you a floor plan including Fred Done's (spacious) office? That's if he's still even there. It was six or seven years ago.

What on earth are you babbling about? Surely you don't need me to explain the difference between acts which could be interpreted as suspicious and genuinely crooked play?

I really have no idea whether Els deliberately tanked the hole or not. Nor do I have any evidence of bets relating to Els. Which isn't surprising given that I'm talking about what interests the bookies.

I mean, maybe you think they are completely disinterested observers but I (along with anyone who bothers to pay attention) know that they scrutinise ALL sports down the micro-level.

Don't tell me that a high-profile former winner of the Masters six-putting the opening hole won't have them scurrying to find suspicious patterns when they routinely do the same for any old football nobody kicking the ball into touch within the first ten seconds of a game.

Do yourself a favour and scuttle back to the kiddies pool with your armbands.

I'm really not interested in your assessment of my knowledge of an industry I've worked in and you have .... [iwhat? [/i



And yet investigations happen each day. Fraudsters are sent to jail. Betting rings are busted open. Crooked sportsmen are banned for lengthy periods etc. etc. etc. Which kind of disproves everything you have said.



Only someone with your limited imagination could think that a sportsman would deliberately underperform for no other reason than money.

I can see this is going to be another one of THOSE threads in which you bore everybody to death arguing the colour of a full stop. Best to leave you barking at your own shadow.

I should really add that the authorities are every bit as interested. Which is why they often have on-site liaison. To say that an "odd" relationship exists between bookies and state governments is an understatement.

Delve down that rabbit hole and I suspect you'd find some interesting things. Although I doubt whether they would be beneficial to one's health.

I'm always impressed with how quickly the online bookies react to live events in horse racing - Flying Officer was a favourite at York last week but he unseated Frankie Dettori when hacking down to the start, then disappeared off up the course for a mile or so and battered down one of the rails, he was withdrawn from the race and because there were only five other horses left the panic button was hit, a rule 4 declared and the chart of odds went crazy on Skybet within 60 seconds of the incident starting, luckily I got a 5/1 on Clever Cookie before they took a new view on everything and he started at 5/2 just a few seconds later - fascinating to watch it happen live.

On the other hand and in a "make it up as you go along" style, at Catterick a couple of weeks ago I twice put a £2 each way on a horse at one of the on site bookies and my mate behind me in the queue had the odds adjusted downwards before he could get in I'm sure it was a coincidence and that £4 didn't spoil that bookies day but who knows, this was Catterick and they are a bit strange up there.

I'd say you need to explain that to yourself. This started by you casting aspersions against Els which were without any visible foundation.


But if there HAD been evidence of it being a betting scam, then undoubtedly it would have been big news. The fact that there was no such thing is, in itself, evidence that no such betting scam was involved.

I worked (part-time) in betting for 20 years but what i know about security is not only from that but because my best mate ran security for a major bookmaker for some decades before he retired and he will have forgotten more about betting and bookies security than you ever knew.


Indeed

Er, riiiiight. Because I did say that I don't believe crooks exist, or that people don't constantly try to beat the bookie, or that fraudsters don't exist, or that there aren't betting rings or scams. Yes, that's exactly what I said.

Damned by faint praise.

... says the man who whinges non-stop about perceived [iad hominem[/i against his own drivel

This thread is the perfect example of why no-one comes on RLFANS any more.

Interesting goings on in Australia, a couple of games involving Manly are being investigated over match fixing : www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/36432394

Interesting goings on in Australia, a couple of games involving Manly are being investigated over match fixing : www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/36432394