Lad, 25, taking bookies to high court after they refuse to pay out winning £274,000 bet

A lad from the Republic of Ireland is taking the bookies to the high court after winning nearly £300k on a horse racing bet.

We've probably all placed a huge bet at one point or another dreaming of the thousands of pounds that will end up in our account, only for the early kick-off to let you down.

Sometimes everything seems to be going your way and you cash out for a big profit, only to realise that you could have won close to £1 million, which is exactly what happened to one Premier League fan a couple of seasons ago.

Others decide to go down the cheating route when it comes to gambling, but that's something that we wouldn't exactly recommend, given the severe punishments you'll face if you're found counting cards or stealing from a casino. This isn't Ocean's Eleven.

However, once in a blue moon, literally everything will go your way on a bet and you'll pick up a life-changing amount of money, or closer to £20 if you prefer a smaller accumulator. Rome wasn't built in a day after all.

But for 25-year-old Dylan Phelan, it was the former after the stable hand correctly predicted two long-shot horses, which he had actually helped to train himself, to win, landing him over €320,000 (£274,000) from just a €60 bet.

Unfortunately for him, the bookies are now refusing to hand over the cash.

The young lad is now taking Ladbrokes to high court in the hope that he can finally claim the winnings.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1, he said: "I just thought that the horses were turning a corner a bit personally. They were feeling a bit better, they were overpriced on the day. I thought I would take advantage and take a chance.

"I was fortunate that it worked out because nine times out of 10 it doesn't. It's a one in a million thing that will probably never happen again. I couldn't believe what was happening. I nearly forgot about the bet but then it all hit me at once. I was on cloud nine."

Rocky Diamond and Diamond Nora were the horses to claim the victory, with Dylan selecting them at a combined odds of over 5,000/1 when they were later reduced to 22/1 and 16/1 to win respectively. Had he won at that price, he would've claimed closer to €12,400.

Ladbrokes claim that the races, which happened in Limerick last year, are still subject to an inquiry by an Irish state body.

Dylan Phelan placed a €30 ew double on 2 horses which both won & @Ladbrokes are refusing to pay the winnings of €300k @BarOneRacing @BoyleSports @paddypower all paid Dylan on smaller winning bets but @Ladbrokes refuse too a year on & are not willing to communicate with Dylan… pic.twitter.com/8oTQYi5oly

— Racing's Inside Track tv (@RInsideTracktv) April 21, 2025

But Dylan has now taken to social media in a viral video which has seen his story capture the attention of people across the world.

In a statement to the Racing Post, the betting company said: "The IHRB is conducting an ongoing investigation into these races and we are awaiting the outcome before settling bets related to this investigation.

"When a sporting governing body is investigating the integrity of a sports event on which we have taken notable bets, we will await the outcome of those proceedings before settling bets relating to the matter under investigation.

"We take integrity matters in sport extremely seriously and our approach is entirely consistent with our terms and conditions and how we would approach any sports event under investigation."