Freddie Williams dies aged 65
Monday 23 June 2008
Latest in Racing
On Facebook
Sport blogs
iBet: Back Wales to win at Twickenham
England and Wales are joint top of the RBS Six Nations table after two games with four points apiece...
UFC: Legends to pass the torch
As the fan favourites of yesteryear are gradually replaced by a new calibre of athlete, the inescapa...
Thierry Henry returns to New York after ‘completing the story of the legend’
Both player and manager were quick to say Henry would be a sideshow, not the main attraction, but hi...
The bookmaker Freddie Williams, famous in betting circles for taking on JP McManus at the Cheltenham Festival, has died at his home in Ayrshire at the age of 65. He suffered a heart attack after working at Ayr races on Saturday afternoon and a Glasgow greyhound stadium that night.
Known as "Fearless Freddie", Williams also made headlines when he was attacked and robbed of £70,000 as his car was ambushed by masked bandits after a day at the Cheltenham Festival two years ago. He hired a helicopter to be airlifted in and out of the meeting last year.
Williams underwent a quadruple heart by-pass in 1998, a few months before paying £90,000 for the No 2 pitch at Cheltenham to realise what had been a life-long ambition to take bets at Prestbury Park.
- 1 Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics
- 2 Vatican told to pay taxes as Italy tackles budget crisis
- 3 The West Bank's Bobby Sands
- 4 Prehistoric cybermen? Sardinia's lost warriors rise from the dust
- 5 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 6 Female teachers accused of giving boys lower marks
- 7 The artist vandalising advertising with poetry
- 8 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 9 Mark Steel: If religion is 'marginal', I'm the Pope
- 10 Can you master a language in a weekend?
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Dawn of the age of wireless medicine
Pete Doherty: I was a bit unhinged
Is there such a thing as a gastronomic gender divide?
The day I danced for a place in Danny Boyle's Olympics spectacular





Comments