Sport's Strangest Crimes

Apr 11 2025 87 ep. 28 mins 1.4k
Sport's Strangest Crimes Podcast artwork

When sport collides with true crime.

  Sports  True Crime
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1. And They're Off!

Jun 01 2021 27 mins  
A horse is kidnapped in the middle of the night. His name was Shergar.He’s not just any horse, he's a prize-winning racehorse owned by an enigmatic spiritual leader, made famous for winning the 1981 Epsom Derby by 10 lengths.A celebrity, a symbol of hope for Ireland, but mostly a real money earner. He was retired and ready to produce more prize-winning offspring, when suddenly he

2. Thieves in the Night

Jun 01 2021 25 mins  
A cold and stormy night in Ireland is made even more terrifying by the presence of armed and masked men.“We’ve come to take Shergar, we want £2,000,000”Kidnappings were not unusual in Ireland at this time, except most of the time it was humans that were taken... some never came back.Who would want a horse? A stallion that no longer raced?

3. A Kidnap is Announced

Jun 01 2021 26 mins  
The international press had a field day, filling the front pages and the lead item on the news. The world was now watching the case develop. A horse kidnap dominated our screens.Gossip, rumours, lies, confusion. The papers get tip offs, false calls and leads that sound legitimate.Then suddenly the kidnappers have one weird request: they're ready to negotiate, but want to speak to t

4. Send in the Cavalry

Jun 01 2021 30 mins  
The Europa 3, unsuspecting sports journalists get flown to Belfast, over 100 miles from the crime scene to a farm belonging to horse trainers the Maxwells.Phone calls ensue, back and forth, details change, voices get more menacing. The police are on hand to try and trace the calls, but for some reason, they can’t find them.Suddenly negotiations stop, there is a pause, then one fi

5. The Decoy

Jun 01 2021 26 mins  
Questions emerge about the validity of the calls outside Belfast and attention is drawn elsewhere where parallel secret negotiations seem to be happening with the mysterious leader and main owner of Shergar, the Aga Khan.But nothing can stop the rumour mill from churning and there are reports Shergar is in Libya with Gadaffi and also that he has been taken by the New Orleans mafia.

6. Proof of Life

May 31 2021 27 mins  
Whilst the horse wasn’t just owned by the Aga Khan, but in fact a syndicate of many shareholders, this episode focuses on one shareholder that had a lot to lose. Stan Cosgrove. The Vet.He was keen to get his insurance payout, but the only way to do so was to prove that Shergar was in fact dead. Coordinating with the kidnappers he organised to get a polaroid to prove the horse was

7. The Final Furlong

May 31 2021 35 mins  
The police used many methods to locate Shergar and most interestingly they sought help from psychics, diviners and the mysterious Mobius group. They claimed to be able to locate Shergar and used parts of his saddle to sniff him out.A supergrass emerges claiming he knows the identity of the masked men. Is this the end?Not for Shergar’s legacy, his sporting achievements are still a

Introducing…Bloodgate

Mar 10 2025 1 mins  
Rugby union was rocked to its core by an episode that involved deception, cover-ups, recriminations and life-changing consequences for those involved.  Hosted by actor and award-winning documentary maker Ross Kemp, with reporting by BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones, this series uncovers new details and untold stories about the infamous ‘Bloodgate’ scandal.Kemp takes

1. Dandies to Dark Arts

Mar 14 2025 27 mins  
Ross Kemp visits the Clapham joke shop at the origin of the Bloodgate cheating scandal that brought rugby union to its knees.We learn how the advent of professionalism in the 1990s brought a new win-at-all-costs mentality to the sport.And Harlequins players Tom Williams, Ugo Monye and Nick Easter explain how new coach Dean Richards transformed the club from entertaining also-rans i

2. It’s Not Real Blood

Mar 21 2025 24 mins  
The story of one rugby's most notorious matches, told by those who were there.A European Cup quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster was always going to be big - but nobody knew how big.Players from both sides including Ugo Monye and Brian O’Driscoll, commentators, coaches and referee Nigel Owens recall how events unfolded before, during and after the moment that Tom Willia