General / Joe Dyer / 29 October 2009 / 1 Comments

Horse shortened from 4-6 to 4-9 on course, but returned a Betfair SP of [2.17]

“It must be a prime contender for the worst SP ever returned on a British racecourse – and punters deserve to know why.” - Betfair's Tony Calvin

Punters were dumbfounded when Giant Sequoia was beaten at odds of 4-9 in the concluding handicap at Kempton last night - but it had nothing to do with the fact that the horse could only finish third.

It would have had everything to do with the fact that the progressive handicapper was shortened from 4-6 to 4-9 on course, despite never dipping below even money on Betfair in the same period.

The only large bets recorded on course, according to the Racing Post, were as follows: £500-£500 (x3) £400-£500 (x3) £400-£650 (x3) £1000-£1750, and £500-£1000 (x3).

However, it actually drifted on the exchange in the same timeframe - despite a £25,000 request to back the horse at [2.1] appearing on the site in the lead-up to the race - and returned a Betfair SP of [2.17] (basically 11-10, even after the maximum commission of 5 per cent is taken into account).

Furthermore, the over-round in the race, which was delayed until 9.40pm due to problems with fog at the course - thus lessening the prospect of "office money" shortening the horse's price - was a massive 141 per cent in the 13-runner handicap.

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin commented: "Giant Sequoias grow from a seed the size of a grain of wheat into huge trees over thousands of years.

"It took a similar unlikely development in about five minutes at Kempton last night to return that horse at 4-9 - and there has to be an investigation into how it was sent off at that price, how many bookmakers were standing at the late hour and who was backing the horse and why.

"It may have lost anyway but horseracing punters and racegoers simply won't stand for it, long-term, in an increasingly competitive sports betting market.

"It must be a prime contender for the worst SP ever returned on a British racecourse - and punters deserve to know why."

Tags: Bookmakers, Giant Sequoia, Kempton, Starting Prices