Wetherby Racecourse: Pub syndicate that won £3m reflects on 'happy memories' of horse racing antics in Leeds

A band of horse racing punters, who are no strangers to Leeds, made a name for themselves winning millions of pounds over the years off the back of their predictions. But one particularly lucky streak forms the subject of new book “£3 Million in 3 Weeks”, that was penned by two of the syndicate’s members.

It tells the story of how the gamblers claimed £3m on a pool bet lasting 21 days back in 2007, when the “Squirrel Syndicate” was required to guess the outcomes of a series of chronological races. Their chances of success decreased with each race, but the punters managed to defy the odds and bag the eye-watering sum.

Aside from that win, the book recounts the formation of the syndicate and the earlier antics of its rodent mascot – including a comical episode at Wetherby Racecourse.

The syndicate had entered their eponymous squirrel into a Young Farmers mascot race at the Leeds venue on a sunny Sunday. It saw 70 colourful characters running in fancy dress, but the squirrel suffered an injury mid-race. Strangely, it was similar to an injury afflicting another famous face at the time.

The book explained: “Disaster struck at Wetherby with our furry friend suffering a suspected broken metatarsal in the right paw just 24 hours after Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney suffered the same injury to his foot at Stamford Bridge.

“With a bandaged paw we limped on, but Doncaster’s Desperate Daisy triumphed over the field, so a fantastically fit Young Farmer claimed the trophy.”

Syndicate member and author Charles Yates, who co-wrote the book with Richard Brocklebank, said that it was just one of the group’s many visits to the city.

“You can’t beat a day at Wetherby races when the sun is shining,” he said. “Lots of our members have met with us there down the years and we have very happy memories of the course. We also particularly like Pontefract Racecourse, it’s probably one of our favourites – a hidden Yorkshire gem.”

The book is available on the Squirrel Book website and a donation will be made to the Thomas Russell Cancer Trust Fund with each signed copy purchased.