Bad luck for punters is good news for Paddy Power

"The Dublin-based firm said today that it benefited from a string of unexpected sporting results in the first six months of 2007.

"...Gamblers enjoyed little success whether they were betting on golf, horse racing, rugby or football and success rates were particularly low in Ireland: "The 'luck of the Irish' was little in evidence with a succession of fancied Irish horses beaten at Cheltenham, Ascot and in the Classics," chairman Fintan Drury said.

"In recent years, Irish-trained horses have enjoyed record wins at Cheltenham, but this year they claimed only five victories over the four days of the festival..."