Pro punter Patrick Veitch charged with dangerous driving following death of boy

Professional punter and racehorse owner Patrick Veitch has appeared in court in York charged with causing the death of a child by dangerous driving.

Veitch, 48, was alleged to have been driving a Porsche Panamera when it was involved in a crash on the A64 near York in August 2016 in which an 11-year-old boy died.

He also faces charges of causing serious injury to another child and to a man by dangerous driving in the same incident after which several injured people were taken to hospital.

No plea was entered by Veitch, from Fulford in York, during the hearing at York Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The case was referred to York Crown Court where Veitch, who was released on unconditional bail, will appear on March 16.

Veitch became one of the most successful punters of the modern era, setting up 'The Professional' telephone tipping service when he was a student at Cambridge University in the 1990s.

His betting exploits, which he detailed in his autobiography Enemy Number One, were said to have netted him more than £10 million in profit between 1996 and 2006 and a lifestyle to pay for a large house, fast cars, a helicopter and a string of racehorses.

Veitch, who was dubbed 'The Baby-Faced Assassin of the Betting Ring' by the News Of The World, enjoyed one of his biggest wins on one of his own horses Exponential, who was backed from 100-1 to 8-1 to win a Nottingham maiden in August 2004, which netted £500,000.

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