Former racehorse owner allegedly lost £270,000 following the collapse of an illegal bookmaker

A former racehorse owner is alleged to have lost £270,000 after the collapse of an illegal bookmaker, Birmingham Magistrates court heard on Monday.

The details came to light as Haydon Simcock, a former manager of a racing ownership syndicate, pleaded not guilty to two charges relating to the running of  The Post Bookmakers.

Simcock was charged with providing facilities for gambling without a licence and advertising unlawful gambling between May 2023 and September 2024.

The 39-year-old acted as the commercial manager for The Post Bookmakers, an unregulated firm taking bets via WhatsApp.

Simcock's involvement was revealed by an undercover investigation by the Racing Post in February last year, during which Simcock claimed The Post had more than 1,000 customers and employed ten people.

Simcock, who wore a dark blue Stone Island sweater, grey-blue trousers, brown trainers and had a yellow Aldi carrier bag with him, spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address as well as entering his pleas to the two charges. He was silent for the remainder of the hearing, sitting on a chair in the centre of the pink-carpeted courtroom.

Emily Andrew KC, representing the defence, said: "Mr Simcock’s defence will be that he believed the owner of the business The Post had a licence and that he was working to the instructions of the owner."

A trial in front of a district judge has been set for February 16-18, 2026, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled to take place on September 5.

The prosecution said that among the witnesses who are set to be called next year is a former racehorse owner who is alleged to have lost £270,000 after The Post disappeared in the wake of the Racing Post's investigation into the operation.

In addition, the prosecution was asked about the owner of The Post and whether they would be appearing during the hearing. In response, Sam Stein KC said: "He has not yet been traced by the Gambling Commission."

Stoke-based Simcock has owned five horses in Britain since 2018, with one registered in his own name and four under the banner of Dark Horse Partnership, a syndicate he fronted that had five winners. Simcock currently has no horses in training and the firm behind his syndicate was dissolved in 2022.

During his conversation with an undercover reporter last February, Simcock said he had worked for The Post for eight months and that the firm had been operational since 2017. 

Simcock said The Post offered customers the best odds available from a selection of four leading bookmakers – bet365, Paddy Power, Sky Bet or William Hill – with the bets accepted via screenshots of online betting slips.

Simcock, of Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, was arrested in September 2024 as part of an investigation led by the Gambling Commission and was charged this month.

Read more:

Revealed: the racehorse owner fronting an illegal bookmaker with more than 1,000 customers 

'People don't want to provide bank statements. We've got so many people betting with us' 

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