A Radio 4 presenter made an X-rated gaffe live on air when giving horse racing tips, to the glee of listeners.
Garry Richardson was naming his picks for Wednesday’s racing action when he accidentally slipped up. He had highlighted Seymour Sox - trained by Alaistar Ralph - in the 12.40 race at Haydock.
However, Richardson made a classic gaffe that would have been more at home on The Simpsons when he called the horse ’Seymour Cox’.
“Here are the selections we’ve picked out, two for Haydock,” Richardson said. “At 20-to-1 it’s number eight, Seymour Cox.”
The experienced host realised he had made an error by the time the next update came at 7.30am.
Regardless, listeners still picked up on the error and took to social media to comment on the humorous line.
“Did #r4today REALLY just tip a horse called Seymour Cox?” wrote Miranda Arnold on Twitter.
Another fan, Tim Bennett, tweeted: “The horse-racing tipster for #r4today could not resist going with Seymour Cox. The pause after the presenter read it out was the highlight of my week so far.”
One listener, Stefan Kucharczyk (@ARTiculate_UK), was impressed that the presenter was able to say the name without cracking up: “Hats off to @BBCr4today for reading the horse name Seymour Cox with a straight face. Such pros!”
The pick of the horse was poor, as Seymour Sox finished eighth in a field of 10. Macho Mover, a 9-2 chance, ended up taking the win.
There have been some truly controversial horse names in recent times, including when a runner was deemed to have a ‘racist’ name when it competed at Wolverhampton. The horse’s name was quickly altered once the error was flagged.
A Japanese horse made global headlines after it was bestowed a name that ‘makes commentators cry’, Sumomomomomomomomo.
