The 'ingenious' betting coup planned to perfection - but should we really celebrate hoodwinking punters?

What an amazing thing it must have been to be a fan of horseracing in the 70s. Nijinsky, Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard, then Red Rum, Grundy versus Bustino and the most amazing collection of two-mile hurdlers any decade has ever known.

Somewhere in the middle of all that was Gay Future – another great memory or a discordant clang among all those top notes, depending on your point of view. Next month, it will be half a century since he achieved fame by hacking up in a Cartmel novice hurdle at 10-1, the result of a plot whose architects were never paid.

Generally speaking, racing can be a bit careless about its heritage; anniversaries get missed, old achievements get forgotten, footage goes unused. But you couldn't level that accusation at Cartmel in relation to Gay Future. The course management has seized on its connection to this notorious piece of history and will use it to promote its two August racedays, the second of which falls exactly on the coup's 50th anniversary.