The Sure Thing

The fascinating true story of how legendary gambler Barney Curley pulled off the greatest betting scams in horse-racing history. ‘Calls to mind The Italian Job.’ Independent on Sunday **The bookies always win. But one man has been proving them wrong for four decades.** In the summer of 1975 Barney Curley, a fearless and renowned gambler, masterminded one of the most spectacular gambles of all time with a racehorse called Yellow Sam. It cost the bookmakers millions of pounds. They said that it could never happen again. But in May 2010, thirty-five years after his first coup, Curley staged the ultimate multi-million-pound-winning sequel. The Sure Thing tells the complete story of how he managed to organise the biggest gamble in racing history - and how he then followed up with yet another audacious scheme. Praise for The Sure Thing: ‘Extremely entertaining, and a revealing insight into one of horse racing’s most colourful, and controversial, characters’ The Press ‘Fascinating’ Racing Post ‘A brilliant read. Love horse racing or not, you won’t be able to put it down’ Wexford People ‘There are fiction books that won’t keep you as enthralled as this!’ ***** Reader review