Barney Curley was on track to become a priest when he was sidetracked by tuberculosis and had to find another way to make a living. He became a smuggler, a pub owner, a horse trainer, a band manager, a bookie, and dabbled in a few other activities, but kept being drawn back to his father's profession, which was gambling.
What made Curley a hero in his native Ireland was a daring scheme in 1975 involving a carefully selected horse race, a network of associates, a talented jockey, an unremarkable horse, and a telephone booth. In a rather complex and secretive manipulation of odds, Curley managed to turn a £15,300 stake into £300,000 in just a few minutes. That was, of course, after a long and convoluted plan was put into place. And it was all legal.
Read how Barney Curley pulled that off and became a legend in Irish horse racing and a real hero in his later years at Damn Interesting.
(Image credit: Jonathan Billinger)
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