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Barney Curley: Gambler, horse trainer and philanthropist dies at 81

Getty Images Barney CurleyGetty Images
Barney Curley - pictured in 1984 - won millions of pounds as a professional gambler

Barney Curley, one of the most colourful characters in horse racing, has died aged 81.

Born in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, he became a successful horse trainer and was famed for his betting coup involving the horse Yellow Sam in 1975.

In later years he founded and dedicated his time to the charity Direct Aid For Africa to support people in Zambia.

Twenty-time champion jockey AP McCoy said Mr Curley had "well-founded legendary status".

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Gold Cup and Grand National-winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill said Mr Curley was "one of racing's great characters".

Trainer John Butler, who spent several years as assistant to Mr Curley, said his former boss had died after a cancer diagnosis.

"He died very peacefully... on Sunday," he said.

"You could spend all night talking about him.

"He was very good to me - he was just one of those people."

From priesthood to punter

Mr Curley was a professional gambler, winning millions of pounds from bookmakers through his betting coups, having earlier abandoned his training to become a priest.

As a young man he managed showbands in Ireland but gave that up to get into horse racing.

Getty Images Horses racing at Bellewstown racecourseGetty Images
Bellewstown in County Meath was the scene of Barney Curley's most famous betting coup

In 1975, he came to prominence with his Yellow Sam coup at Bellewstown racecourse in the Republic of Ireland.

He drew up a plan for the unfancied horse to win the race at odds of 20-1 and for friends across Ireland to place big bets on it at bookmakers' shops.

Typically when large sums of money are bet on a horse the odds on it are cut but Mr Curley's plan allowed him to beat the bookies.

His plot involved blocking the single public phone line at Bellewstown, meaning there was no way the off-course bookies could contact the on-course bookies, who determined the odds, to inform them of the rush for Yellow Sam.

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'For the buzz'

Mr Curley won substantial sums of money in two more headline-grabbing coups in 2010 and 2014.

Speaking to the Independent in 2011, he said: "It's not for the money. It's for the buzz. Beat the system."

He subsequently said the press had "never picked up" on many of his other successful big gambles.

In 1984, Mr Curley organised a lottery to raise funds to expand his horse training business - the prize was his luxury home in County Westmeath.

Almost 9,000 tickets were sold at a cost of £200 each and charities benefitted from some of the cash.

A year after his 18-year-old son Charlie was killed in a car crash in 1995, Mr Curley set up Direct Aid For Africa, which has since built schools and hospitals in Zambia.

Reflecting on his life during an interview with Racing TV in 2019, Mr Curley said: "If we all try to give a little bit of help to someone else we'll have a lot better life."