Whodunnit? The 40-year mystery that shocked horse racing

In 1981, a champion racehorse named Shergar, worth approximately $50 million in today's currency, was kidnapped from a stud farm in Ireland by masked gunmen during "The Troubles," a period of violent conflict primarily involving the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The kidnappers initially demanded 2 million pounds for Shergar’s return but later claimed he had died. Despite extensive searches and investigations, including ransom negotiations facilitated by a sports commentator named Derek Thompson, the horse's fate remains unknown, with no body ever found and no arrests made. This unresolved case is one of the greatest mysteries in thoroughbred racing history, as Shergar was considered among the best racehorses ever, having won both the Irish Derby and the Epsom Derby that year.