Supreme racing club’s finances investigated by crime bureau

John Mooney
Sunday December 05 2021, 12.01am, The Sunday Times
Ruby Walsh rode Kemboy, trained by Willie Mullins, right, to a Punchestown win. The horse was owned by Supreme

BRIAN LAWLESS/PA
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The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau is investigating suspected financial irregularities in the Supreme Horse Racing Club before its collapse two years ago.

The investigation is focusing on the club’s sale of shares in racehorses prior to Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) freezing its account and banning its horses from entering races in late 2019, following complaints from investors.

Founded in 2011 by Steve Massey and Jim Balfry, Supreme was among the most high-profile horseracing clubs in Ireland and Britain, and owned 29 horses including Kemboy, a multiple Grade 1 winner trained by Willie Mullins, who had no involvement in the operation of the club.

Supreme’s members paid a fee for a share in a racehorse and a monthly subscription to cover vet and training fees, in return for a promised share of any winnings. The garda investigation was prompted by complaints from former club members including Martin Murray, an accountant from Galway, who says he is owed thousands in winnings.

“I joined Supreme after I saw an advert for investment in a racehorse. I bought 2.5 per cent in one horse for €3,500. I also paid training fees of €70 a month,” Murray said. “I was lucky. Some of my horses went on to be champions and actually won races.”


Murray said he began to ask questions after buying 5 per cent in one horse and finding later that a friend had bought the same holding. “I knew there was something wrong,” he said.

Murray claimed that none of his fellow Supreme members knew who owned what percentage of what horse as no records were made available and questions went unanswered.

He believed the club was kept afloat by not paying out winnings because shares in the horses were “oversold”. He likened it to a Ponzi scheme where you were continually urged to reinvest. He said that HRI should have acted sooner.

Ray Gilbourne, an investor from Cork, said he became suspicious when the club was “constantly trying to get you to reinvest winnings in other horses”.

The Sunday Times was unable to contact Massey for comment. Balfry, who has been described as the club’s Irish manager in the racing press, said he was not a trustee but had been paid to act as a liaison between members and Mullins, who trained many of its horses.

“I had nothing to do with the administration of Supreme. I had no access to the bank accounts. I never bought any horses. Massey ran all the bank accounts from England. All the money was paid directly into his account by HRI. I never saw anything,” Balfry said.

He criticised HRI for failing to ensure the club was being run properly, adding that Massey had been a sole trustee for years though there should have been two.

HRI confirmed that it had referred matters relating to Supreme to gardai. It said it had assisted club members to restructure their various racehorse ownerships.