Waterford man overcomes year of hurdles to receive €320,000 Ladbrokes payout

A Waterford stable lad says he’s been ‘consumed’ by a saga that saw him waiting over a year for a potentially life changing sum of money.

Eleven days after bringing his story to the public light, following discussions with the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board (IHRB) - Ladbrokes have announced their intentions to honour a bet which will see Dylan Phelan (25), take home a six-figure sum.

The Dungarvan man thought he had hit the jackpot on April 19, 2024 when attending the races in Limerick. 

Mr Phelan walked into a Ladbrokes shop in Limerick City shortly after 2pm that day and placed a €60 bet. Three hours later that €60 had suddenly become €319,440 or so he thought at the time.

The 25-year-old, who works for Cappagh trainer Declan Queally, placed a €30 each way double on two of Queally’s horses, who were running at Limerick and Ballinrobe respectively.

Rocky’s Diamond (80/1), won a maiden hurdle at Limerick at 4.45pm, and 22 minutes later, Diamond Nora (125/1) followed up to score in a mares’ maiden at Ballinrobe.

Both horses went off at prices of 16/1 and 22/1 respectively. Mr Phelan said the initial feeling when realising that both horses had come in was indescribable.

“The whole thing was just surreal," he said when speaking on WLR. 

“Rocky’s Diamond won and then a couple of minutes later I saw Diamond Nora had come in, and I was just on cloud nine. I kind of had to pinch myself really. I couldn’t believe the whole thing was after happening but it was after happening, and it was like a dream had come true," he added.

In Dylan’s own words, “it wasn’t long after that until the whole excitement was gone out of everything". 

Fast forward a year, and he was yet to receive a single cent of what he was owed. 

The results of both races underwent subsequent investigations by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), given the race day stewards at both tracks had inquired as to how the apparent improvement in form from both horses in question had come about. 

The matter was then passed on to an IHRB referrals committee.

Ladbrokes had initially stated that their decision to withhold Phelan’s pending payment was “entirely consistent with their terms”, pointing to the then ongoing investigations by the IHRB. A statement from Ladbrokes read: 'The IHRB is conducting an ongoing investigation into these races and we are awaiting the outcome before settling bets related to this investigation. When a sporting governing body is investigating the integrity of a sports event on which we have taken notable bets, we will await the outcome of those proceedings before settling bets relating to the matter under investigation. We take integrity matters in sport extremely seriously and our approach is entirely consistent with our terms and conditions and how we would approach any sports event under investigation.'

Mr Phelan’s initial elation had turned to frustration, and having to make his case public added insult to injury.

“There’s been more than a couple of sleepless nights in the last year" he said.

“It’s been going on for a year now and that’s far too long. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. So many ups and downs and mentally, it’s been tough to deal with the whole thing," he added.

Disgrace

"The whole world knows my business now and I never wanted that to happen. I just wanted my bet to settle after the time that it happened. It’s a disgrace," he said.

 “The whole thing is just consuming me. Sleepless nights worrying about the whole thing - and it’s unfortunate that we had to go down the media route and that it couldn’t be settled, but I had no choice in the matter. It’s been getting to me."

Initial dreams of how the money could make a positive impact upon his life and that of those around him turned to concerns and fears that maybe nothing would come of what was supposed to be one of the most memorable moments of Dylan’s life.

“When you think you have money, you spend more money and I’ve bitten off a little bit more than I can chew since," he said.

"I was banking on having my big winning bet to fall back on. It’s life changing, the world is your oyster - I could buy a house or build one or invest, or put it away, do whatever I want," he added, before commenting: "I was just lucky to be such a young lad in such a fortunate position, striking a one in a million bet.” 

Mr Phelan's case gathered significant media attention. 

Millions of views across various online platforms saw public interest in the case grow considerably overnight, leading to an announcement from Ladbrokes on Friday last, April 25, in which they stated: 'We have now discussed this matter with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) in order to seek a resolution as quickly as possible. Although the IHRB is unable to provide details of the investigation or its likely duration - we are satisfied that it is appropriate to proceed with the payment of the relevant bets in accordance with our terms and conditions.' 

The findings of the IHRB investigation remain to be seen, but one thing is now cast iron guaranteed - a once-in-10,205 chance has come in for Mr Phelan. A 0.0098% probability - 99.98% unlikely - but never impossible, this life changing victory may set new precedents in future.