Police have launched an investigation into a Mr Big who claims jockeys provide him with “guaranteed” winners in horse racing events.

The suspect, based in the south of England, is thought to be a well-known racing conman.  He invites punters to join his ‘elite’ syndicate for £10,000 and more.

It is believed that he has also sent mail-shots boasting his successes to Ireland.

There has also been a separate scam which police are investigating that involves a man named ‘Neil Tawse’, who claims to be a racehorse owner with inside information.  However, racing chiefs have said that the name Neil Tawse has never been registered as a racehorse owner.  Police believe that the two scams might be linked as Brighton addresses have been given in mail-shots in both of the scams.

Sussex Police are dealing with both the scams and their spokeswoman said, “We are at the centre of this investigation.  Everything is being coordinated here.

“By the end, we expect to be inundated with complaints.  It would be foolish for anyone to assume this is just local.  We expect it to become extremely widespread.”

A former City financier has been a victim of the scam.  He sent a cheque for over £10,000 after a conversation with a man calling himself ‘Jock.’  The former City financier who wishes to remain anonymous said, “It all started when I received a letter about betting on horses and I was asked to ring a number and was put through to someone who said he was Jock.

“He offered me four tips, three won and the other was beaten a short-head.  He didn’t charge for them, and I made a good profit.  I was impressed.

“Jock then rang and said he was running a syndicate which bet on the exchanges, and invited me to be a member…for well over £10,000.  He gave me the name of a colleague to make the cheque payable to, and an address in Brighton where it should be sent, which was the same as the one in the mail-shot.  Jock said the syndicate bet horses will lose, and that they got information from jockeys.  He said that one jockey had just told him that a hot favourite was going to run in blinkers, but it would not perform in them.

“It was like insider dealing in the City.  He said there were around 20 members in the syndicate and that some had put in considerably more than I had.  From what he said, I reckoned the syndicate could be worth at least half a million pounds.”

A fortnight after sending his cheque, the former City financier had a phone call from ‘Jock’ in which he said his investment had gone up to £21,000, and six weeks later he had another call in which Jock said it had now reached £40,000.

The former City financier has asked ‘Jock’ for his stake back, but after 10 weeks he still hasn’t received his cash.
The unlucky gambler said, “’Jock’ assured me that there was a money-back guarantee and that the proceeds from the syndicate would be returned in July when that syndicate would be dissolved, and that he would ask for the same amount again to set up a new syndicate so that it had a new name to divert suspicion from a successful operation.

“However, his mobile phone is no longer available, and he’s totally lost contact, so I’ve accepted that I’ve been well and truly conned.”

The former City financier has been in contact with Sussex Police and hired two private detectives to find ‘Jock.’

Both the Brighton addresses in the two scams are actually real addresses but Sussex Police have found no sign of the syndicate or ‘Neil Tawse.’

Owen Byrne, spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority has made it clear that ‘Neil Tawse’ was “neither a racehorse owner” or a “former work rider”, which he had also claimed he had been in mail-shots.  He confirmed, “We have no record of a Neil Tawse as a racehorse owner or having worked in a stable.”  Therefore if you receive a mail-shot from a Brighton address asking you to join a racing syndicate or from a ‘Neil Tawse’ claiming to have inside information, you have been warned.

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