User:Donnie Park/Magnificent Seven (horse racing)

Magnificent Seven is the nickname taken from the headline of the Sporting Times for the seven horse race wins achieved by the British-Italian jockey Frankie Dettori, taking place at Ascot Racecourse on a single day of 28 September 1996.

known in the race program title as The Festival at Ascot, a group of races that came to become the British Champions Day.

Pre-race
Prior to the Ascot meetings, only two jockeys have managed a 100% record on a six-race card in the United Kingdom; Gordon Richards at Chepstow Racecourse, Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales on 4th October 1933 and Alec Russell at Bogside Racecourse on 19th July 1957. Richard’s achievement was part of a twelve-race winning sequence in three consecutive days; the last race at Nottingham Racecourse, the entire races at Chepstow and then the first five races at Chepstow the next day before being beaten in a close finish in the final race of the meeting. Only American jockey Chris Antley bettered that total number on 31st October 1987 with nine wins in a day; Four of those at Aqueduct Racetrack, South Ozone Park, Queens, New York City with another five at Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey later in the evening.

Effects on bookmakers
The combined odds for winning all seven-card races was at 25,000-1, as a result this believed to have cost gambling industries a tune of over £30 million in payouts.

The worst hit was the bookmaker, Gary Wiltshire, who believed to have lost £1 million. Dettori's horse for the Rosemary Dated Stakes, the fifth race, Fatefully was prior in the morning quoted at the odds of 9/2 but had it reduced to 5/2 when large bookmakers went into damage limitation mode and later lowed the odds to 13/8.

the Ascot betting ring, the big firms were now trying to limit the damage from Dettori having ridden the first four winners. Fatefully opened at and was well backed down

As a result of this, he was forced to sell his house and cars and made a living selling Christmas paper in Oxford Street. Soon after, he made his money betting at six race meetings and six greyhound races tracks each week.

One compulsive gambler from Morecambe in Lancashire; a joinery business owner who faced financial troubles, had been forced to quit his gambling habit by his wife but secretly made a bet of £67.58 backing Dettori. Despite fearing redundancy for his six employees, he earned £550,000 from his bets, doubling his business and moved into a new house.

Post race
On 15 October 2012, Irish jockey Richard Hughes tied with Dettori with the same number of wins but failed to achieve the same number of consecutive wins as he came third in his sixth race of the eight he partipicated in.

For his achievement, Dettori was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in which he came third behind Steve Redgrave and Damon Hill, the best for a jockey.

The races have been ranked at 27 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments broadcasted on January 2002.

Fujiyama Crest, the horse that helped Dettori to achieve his seventh and last win of the day, had a later career in hurdling until 2000, when Dettori took the opportunity to buy him and lived the rest of his life as Dettori's family pet. Fujiyama Crest passed away at the age of 23 in 2015.

Results
http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/racecards/28-09-1996/ascot/racecard/132214/gordon-carter-stakes-handicap http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/racecards/03-10-2014/ascot/racecard/643303/ascot-camra-beer-festival-gordon-carter-handicap

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