On the 25th of July 2016, a horse named Dandy Flame was entered into their second ever race. It was at Wolverhampton, and Dandy Flame was priced at 200/1.
The horse shocked everyone by crossing the finish line in first place, the first time a horse had won at such long odds since Lights of Broadway won at Taunton in 2012. That made him the joint second longest priced winner in horse racing history.
It was a strong run too.
Dandy Flame led early on but ended up chasing the leader for most of the race. He was pushed on the lead in the final furlong and finished strong.
So how had the bookies got this one do dramatically wrong? Well, to be fair to them, Dandy Flame was only running his second race, and had come 8th of 8 in his first outing.
According to the Racing Post’s race report, the horse looked “clueless” as he crossed the finish line.
Not only that, the horse came last in his next two races as well, so it was an impossible win to predict, although the horse’s owner, Jose Santos admitted he had a bet on:
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a bet on him, but I should have had more”
So Dandy Fame had at least one bet backing him. At 200/1, the winnings may well have paid Santos more than the £3,000 prize money.
William Hill confirmed an anonymous online punter had £25 each way on the horse too, winning them a very respectable £6,050.