One thing to note is.....
With the state that British Racing is in, owners look to support their horse with "gambles" on them...and why not !
Winning and place prize money is not "enough" to keep a horse in training. And as most owners have at least a couple of horses in training, the "gambles" are essential to keep "the product" (Racing) alive.
Whether Barney allegedly does this is not known, however, he does have loyal owners.
It does sound like, on this thread, that people are "anti" Barney, but what about trainers that keep there horse in races when it is known that they do not have a chance of winning, yet are able to pick up decent "place" price money. Is that also "wrong". I am thinking of NH chase races, offering "good" money, yet have attracted very few runners (3). What does that "do" for racing as a product ? And what an opportunity they offer as a "perfect" lay bet.
Sometimes it does seem, that some people on here put themselves up as "traders", but have little or no knowledge of the product they trade in.
Whereas others here, have a fantastic knowledge of A. Racing as an industry. B. Horses in training. and C. Trading. (Peter, you know who I mean !) And then, go on to develop an excellent trading platform (You again Peter !)
Anyway, rant over. And thanks Peter for Bet Angel.
One final point on Messer Curley. Have a look at this clip from YouTube of Mr Curley, it may explain more about the man himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfPpBpDaSXE
