Gay Future, Antony Collins, Tony Murphy, and the 1974 Cartmel Ulverston Novice Hurdle / 1970s
In August 1974, millionaire Irish builder and racing enthusiast Tony Murphy joined forces with Scottish trainer Antony Collins in an elaborate attempt to defraud British bookmakers. Collins first showed racing observers a poor-performing chestnut horse as though it were Gay Future, deliberately depressing expectations and inflating the odds. Before the Ulverston Novice Hurdle at Cartmel on 26 August, the genuine Gay Future was secretly substituted for the impostor, Arctic Chevalier, in an M6 lay-by. The syndicate had also entered two other Collins-trained horses in earlier races, placing double and treble wagers that linked those runners to Gay Future. The two horses were then withdrawn shortly before their races, causing the bets to roll over onto the Cartmel horse while the supposed runners remained safely at their stables.
The operation exploited Cartmel's isolation and the heavy Bank Holiday betting crowds. The course had only one telephone line, which was intentionally kept engaged so bookmakers' headquarters could not make timely inquiries, while accomplices overwhelmed the on-course Tote to stop new bets from driving down the 10-1 price. Soap flakes were rubbed onto Gay Future's legs to create the impression that the horse was sweating and therefore less than fully fit. Despite the suspicious circumstances, Gay Future won by fifteen lengths. British bookmakers withheld payment pending an investigation, although bookmakers in Ireland paid out. Scotland Yard's Serious Crimes Squad uncovered the conspiracy, and at Preston Crown Court in February 1976, Collins and Murphy were convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Collins received a £1,000 fine and a suspended prison sentence, while both men were barred from British racecourses by the Jockey Club for ten years. Gay Future later broke his neck and died at a Wetherby racing event in January 1976. The extraordinary scheme was dramatized in the 1980 television film Murphy's Stroke, and at a 2014 Cartmel commemoration Collins reportedly said he did not regret the fraud.
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