Jockey Club probes '100-1 sting'

An investigation is under way today into a suspected horse race sting that resulted in a £500,000 coup for punters.

The probe was ordered after a 100-1 outsider raced to victory at Nottingham. Bookmakers had been inundated with bets of up to £200 each way, prompting suspicions of a sting.

The Jockey Club will investigate betting patterns before the victory by Exponential, which had come last in its only previous outing.

The horse started the day on odds as high as 280-1 on betting exchanges. This had dropped to 100-1 by the time high street betting shops opened at 10am.

Punters continued to bombard bookmakers with bets and by the time the race began at 2.45pm on Monday, odds on Exponential had crashed to 8-1. Ridden by David Allan, the horse won by a length ahead of 14 other runners.

A spokesman for the Jockey Club, which has been hit by claims of fixing, said: "We want to make sure that nothing untoward happened."

The coup cost the betting industry an estimated £500,000, a relative fortune for a "maidens" race between horses that have never won. Most bets were staked with the three main chains, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral. David Stevens of Coral said: "We took several wagers of £200 each way at 100-1 which meant winnings of £25,000. Sometimes the punters come out on top."

But William Hill said it had never seen such a high volume of betting on a horse that appeared to be a rank outsider.

Exponential is trained by Stuart Williams, who is based at Newmarket, and owned by an anonymous syndicate called the Exponential Partnership. Mr Williams insisted the horse had attracted votes for its talent. He said: "I think it was simply a question of some punters spotting good value for money."

The scandal comes four months after champion jockey Kieren Fallon was charged with bringing racing into disrepute by passing tips on to undercover reporters.