Fine Cotton
Encyclopedia
Fine Cotton was a brown Australia
n Thoroughbred
gelding which was at the centre of a substitution scam (also known as a ring-in) which occurred on 18 August 1984, in the Commerce Novice (2nd division) Handicap over 1,500 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse
, Brisbane
, Queensland
. Although there have been many ring-ins and other illegal scams in Australian racing, the Fine Cotton scandal is infamous in Australia due to the involvement of some of racing's elite.
Fine Cotton was foaled on 29 November 1976, by Aureo from Cottonpicker by Delta. He was bred by the Estate of the Late GA Darke and Mr W D Hayne, New South Wales
.
Wednesday meeting on 8 August 1984, where he carried 53.5 kg and started at 20-1. He ran 10th in a field of 12.
The scam involved a syndicate said to be headed by former bloodstock agent John Gillespie, which purchased a horse that looked almost identical to Fine Cotton and performed better. Unfortunately for the syndicate, this horse was injured and unable to race when the ring-in was due to take place. Having already invested money and gone so far, the syndicate decided to find another horse. With time running out, they purchased a horse called Bold Personality
, an open-class horse several grades above Fine Cotton.
The syndicate faced a problem in that the horses were different colours. Fine Cotton was an eight year old brown gelding
and had white markings on his hind legs, whereas Bold Personality was a seven year old bay
gelding with no markings. To overcome this issue, they applied Clairol
hair colouring to Bold Personality with limited success. On race day, having forgotten the peroxide to whiten the legs of Bold Personality, they resorted to crudely applied white paint. These poorly conceived attempts to overcome the discrepancies in appearance between the two horses later served to highlight the amateurish nature of the scheme.
A horse of Bold Personality's ability was not eligible to race in a restricted novice handicap because he was considered to be an open class horse. Even allowing for the restricted class, Fine Cotton was in such poor form
that he was considered to have an outside chance of winning and opened in the betting at odds of 33-1.
As betting continued, money began to be invested on Fine Cotton both at Eagle Farm and at other tracks and TAB
s throughout the country. Such was the avalanche of money that Fine Cotton/Bold Personality eventually started at 7/2 ($4.50).
It is believed the conspirators would have netted more than A$1.5 million if the ring-in proved successful. This scale of betting plunge was highly unusual, so racing stewards were already suspicious before the race. Bookmakers in Sydney noticed the unusual change in the odds and voiced their concerns. The word ring-in was mentioned, but nothing was raised with the stewards. By the time the horses reached the barrier, the whisper had become something more.
The ring-in began slowly, but was quick to pick up pace. Philpot was surprised at how easily the horse worked its way into the race. By the time they reached the corner, the event was a race in two. The early favourite Harbour Gold, who had drifted from fractional odds to 5-1, clung to the rail, and Bold Personality, racing as Fine Cotton and ridden by apprentice Gus Philpot, claimed him on the outside.
From this point on, they were involved in a titanic struggle. First one then the other hit the front until right on the line, where the ring-in stuck his head out and won by only a short half head (known as a "nose", the shortest possible margin of victory in horse racing) from Harbour Gold.
Even if he had lost, the suspicions raised would have uncovered the scam. As it was, inquiries were already undertaken as the place getters returned to scale.
and was later charged over the affair. As investigations continued it became clear that despite the ineptitude of the ring-in, some high profile individuals were at least aware if not involved in the scheme. Amongst them were well-known Sydney
bookmakers Bill Waterhouse and his son Robbie.
As a result of the official inquiry, the Queensland Turf Club
, the State's principal racing club, "warned off" (banned) six people for life. They were the organiser John Gillespie, horse trainer Hayden Haitana, businessman Robert North, electrical technician Tommaso Di Luzio and salesman John Dixon. Gillespie and Haitana also served jail terms.
Because most of the betting plunge on the race was on New South Wales racecourses, the Australian Jockey Club
in Sydney held its own inquiry and warned off bookmaker
s Bill and Robbie Waterhouse and seven others, including Catholic Priest Edward O'Dwyer, for having prior knowledge of the ring-in.
Robbie Waterhouse has consistently denied he participated in the scheme or knew of the details. The Waterhouses had bet on Fine Cotton in amounts that suggest they knew Fine Cotton's chances were greater than his form suggested. Whether this was due to a tip or knowledge of the scam has been the subject of considerable speculation. What is known is that the involvement of the Waterhouses infuriated other bookmakers who stood to lose as a result.
The warning-off later presented a problem for Robbie's wife Gai Waterhouse
, daughter of training legend Tommy J. Smith, when she applied for a trainer's licence from the AJC. After much pressure by Gai on the AJC she gained her licence to train.
In 1998, after being banned for 14 years, Bill and Robbie Waterhouse were allowed back on to Australian racecourses. Since then, Robbie has had a number of controversial run-ins with racing stewards. As of August 2010, trainer Hayden Haitana was still serving his life ban.
Fine Cotton died on 20 February 2009, aged 31.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
gelding which was at the centre of a substitution scam (also known as a ring-in) which occurred on 18 August 1984, in the Commerce Novice (2nd division) Handicap over 1,500 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse
Eagle Farm Racecourse
Eagle Farm Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Ascot, 7 km from the Brisbane central business district....
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Although there have been many ring-ins and other illegal scams in Australian racing, the Fine Cotton scandal is infamous in Australia due to the involvement of some of racing's elite.
Fine Cotton was foaled on 29 November 1976, by Aureo from Cottonpicker by Delta. He was bred by the Estate of the Late GA Darke and Mr W D Hayne, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
Before the race
Fine Cotton was a horse of limited abilities that was racing in the southern areas of Queensland. The horse was eligible to race in restricted races (for horses with fewer than a certain number of wins) and even then had a poor record leading up to the substitution. Before the ring-in, Fine Cotton's last race was in a 1,200m Intermediate Handicap at a DoombenDoomben Racecourse
Doomben Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Ascot, 7 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district....
Wednesday meeting on 8 August 1984, where he carried 53.5 kg and started at 20-1. He ran 10th in a field of 12.
The scam involved a syndicate said to be headed by former bloodstock agent John Gillespie, which purchased a horse that looked almost identical to Fine Cotton and performed better. Unfortunately for the syndicate, this horse was injured and unable to race when the ring-in was due to take place. Having already invested money and gone so far, the syndicate decided to find another horse. With time running out, they purchased a horse called Bold Personality
Bold Personality
Bold Personality was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who gained notability by being substituted for the inferior horse Fine Cotton in a race at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane on 18 August 1984...
, an open-class horse several grades above Fine Cotton.
The syndicate faced a problem in that the horses were different colours. Fine Cotton was an eight year old brown gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
and had white markings on his hind legs, whereas Bold Personality was a seven year old bay
Bay (color)
Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds....
gelding with no markings. To overcome this issue, they applied Clairol
Clairol
Clairol is a personal care products division of Procter & Gamble. The Clairol company was started in 1931 by Lawrence M. Gelb and wife, Joan, who named their enterprise after a hair-coloring preparation they found while traveling in France....
hair colouring to Bold Personality with limited success. On race day, having forgotten the peroxide to whiten the legs of Bold Personality, they resorted to crudely applied white paint. These poorly conceived attempts to overcome the discrepancies in appearance between the two horses later served to highlight the amateurish nature of the scheme.
Race day
The syndicate entered Fine Cotton in a race at Eagle Farm on 18 August 1984. The event chosen was a novice handicap for horses that had won fewer than a set number of races.A horse of Bold Personality's ability was not eligible to race in a restricted novice handicap because he was considered to be an open class horse. Even allowing for the restricted class, Fine Cotton was in such poor form
Form (horse racing)
----In horse racing, the form of a horse is a record of significant events including its performance in previous races. The form may identify the horse's sire, dam and wider pedigree...
that he was considered to have an outside chance of winning and opened in the betting at odds of 33-1.
As betting continued, money began to be invested on Fine Cotton both at Eagle Farm and at other tracks and TAB
Totalizator Agency Board
Totalisator Agency Board in Australia and New Zealand, universally shortened to TAB, is the name given to monopoly totalisator organisations. All were originally government owned...
s throughout the country. Such was the avalanche of money that Fine Cotton/Bold Personality eventually started at 7/2 ($4.50).
It is believed the conspirators would have netted more than A$1.5 million if the ring-in proved successful. This scale of betting plunge was highly unusual, so racing stewards were already suspicious before the race. Bookmakers in Sydney noticed the unusual change in the odds and voiced their concerns. The word ring-in was mentioned, but nothing was raised with the stewards. By the time the horses reached the barrier, the whisper had become something more.
The race
The 2nd Novice Handicap would in ordinary circumstances have been a forgettable event if not for the substitution. The horses entered were up and coming horses or older horses of limited ability such as Fine Cotton. The syndicate then waited for the race.The ring-in began slowly, but was quick to pick up pace. Philpot was surprised at how easily the horse worked its way into the race. By the time they reached the corner, the event was a race in two. The early favourite Harbour Gold, who had drifted from fractional odds to 5-1, clung to the rail, and Bold Personality, racing as Fine Cotton and ridden by apprentice Gus Philpot, claimed him on the outside.
From this point on, they were involved in a titanic struggle. First one then the other hit the front until right on the line, where the ring-in stuck his head out and won by only a short half head (known as a "nose", the shortest possible margin of victory in horse racing) from Harbour Gold.
Even if he had lost, the suspicions raised would have uncovered the scam. As it was, inquiries were already undertaken as the place getters returned to scale.
Post race
Suspicious after the huge betting plunge and the seemingly dramatic improvement made by Fine Cotton, racing stewards launched an immediate investigation. As Bold Personality returned to scale, the paint was beginning to run on his leg, something obvious to those nearby. Several members of the crowd began to shout "ring-in". Stewards stopped payment of bets in the race while they spoke to Fine Cotton's trainer, Hayden Haitana. They requested the registration papers for Fine Cotton so that they could verify the identity of the race winner; however, Haitana absconded from the track without complying with this request and the scam began to fall apart. Bold Personality—alias Fine Cotton—was disqualified and an official inquiry was opened. With the disqualification, runner up Harbour Gold was awarded the race and the many punters who had backed Fine Cotton did not receive any money.Aftermath
Hayden Haitana was eventually found in South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and was later charged over the affair. As investigations continued it became clear that despite the ineptitude of the ring-in, some high profile individuals were at least aware if not involved in the scheme. Amongst them were well-known Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
bookmakers Bill Waterhouse and his son Robbie.
As a result of the official inquiry, the Queensland Turf Club
Queensland Turf Club
The Queensland Turf Club was founded in August 1863.It began on a piece of land in Ascot, Queensland, later called Eagle Farm Racecourse, given to the club by government grant. The first meeting of the club was held on 14 August 1865....
, the State's principal racing club, "warned off" (banned) six people for life. They were the organiser John Gillespie, horse trainer Hayden Haitana, businessman Robert North, electrical technician Tommaso Di Luzio and salesman John Dixon. Gillespie and Haitana also served jail terms.
Because most of the betting plunge on the race was on New South Wales racecourses, the Australian Jockey Club
Australian Jockey Club
The Australian Jockey Club was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony...
in Sydney held its own inquiry and warned off bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
s Bill and Robbie Waterhouse and seven others, including Catholic Priest Edward O'Dwyer, for having prior knowledge of the ring-in.
Robbie Waterhouse has consistently denied he participated in the scheme or knew of the details. The Waterhouses had bet on Fine Cotton in amounts that suggest they knew Fine Cotton's chances were greater than his form suggested. Whether this was due to a tip or knowledge of the scam has been the subject of considerable speculation. What is known is that the involvement of the Waterhouses infuriated other bookmakers who stood to lose as a result.
The warning-off later presented a problem for Robbie's wife Gai Waterhouse
Gai Waterhouse
Gai Waterhouse is a Scottish-born, Australian resident horse trainer, businesswoman and a former actress-Career:...
, daughter of training legend Tommy J. Smith, when she applied for a trainer's licence from the AJC. After much pressure by Gai on the AJC she gained her licence to train.
In 1998, after being banned for 14 years, Bill and Robbie Waterhouse were allowed back on to Australian racecourses. Since then, Robbie has had a number of controversial run-ins with racing stewards. As of August 2010, trainer Hayden Haitana was still serving his life ban.
Fine Cotton died on 20 February 2009, aged 31.