SIMON NOTT BLOG: Nobody Likes You

I won’t need to mention the bookmaker’s name, but anyone that follows racing on social media, particularly X will know who he is. A layer’s firm mistakenly paid a punter 10 times what he was entitled to on course at York. The punter took the money and presumably headed for the hills, or at least a pub, and the bookie publicly screamed the place down and called the bobbies, writes SIMON NOTT.

Some people have suggested this sort of thing would never have happened in the past. Apart from calling in the Sweeney, that’s a fallacy. As far as my experience goes, bookmakers have always been seen as fair game as dishonesty perpetrated by otherwise basically honest people goes.

I have been guilty of costing the bookmaker I was working for money due to an oversight in a similar to the one reported from York. Back in the 1990’s before computerised tickets we issued card tickets that were numbered from 001 to 999 with the bets written in a ledger.

What happened in my case was that we were betting down under the cover near the paddock at Cheltenham at an off meeting. It was busier than expected and were under the cosh. By the penultimate race were had gone through a whole packet of card tickets so started a new pack. These tickets would almost certainly have been a different colour and had a different code name. The fake bookie that did a runner from Epsom on Benny The Dip’s Derby day’s code on his tickets was ‘Lucan’, that’s the rubdown right there, anyway back this story about a real bookie.

We’d started issuing the new tickets in another busy race but not gone into the 100’s. A chap came up with his ticket and said something like he’s a bit embarrassed about coming to draw such a paltry amount. I called the bet, let’s say ticket 077 to the clerk. He replied whatever it was let’s say £250 to come. I remember saying something like there’s nothing wrong with that and paid him with a smile. The chap was off like a shot and I can still picture to him scampering off and remember him looking around just before he went out of sight. I didn’t think anything of it until a punter came up with ticket 077 and claimed £250. A frantic check revealed that the bloke that took the £250’s bet was on the first race where he’d backed a short priced placed horse each-way and had £3 or something to come. Of course, the punter with ticket 077 in this race had to be paid too.

A good winning day in those days was a monkey so it was hard one for the boss. It did make it easier that his son had been clerking. It was slack by both of us, we’d been a victim of circumstances, but from then on when we were still using card tickets we’d always ask the customer how much they had to come to try and ensure it didn’t happen again.

A much more prevalent occurrence would have happened several times to any bookmaker that’s worked on course for any length of time. That is if they’d paid out over a subsequently disqualified horse. I will caveat that with, proper racing people, mid-week wouldn’t try and pull strokes, the odd few that did would soon get a reputation not to be trusted, the worst branding ever for a punter on course. It’s generally weekends or festivals where punters will be, infrequent racegoers and anonymous to most bookmakers and will take the money and run if the opportunity arises.

The sad fact of the game is that in general punters despise bookmakers. There are bookies that have made that their unique selling point. Barry Dennis’ on the pitch and on-screen persona was much removed from the real man. When I interviewed him for #BettingPeople I was very nervous about doing it. As a floorman, he’d always barked at me, but in his own home he was an absolute gentleman.

It wasn’t just workmen he lambasted, when I worked for Ivor Perry next to him at Cheltenham in 2002 Barry was hilarious to listen to. A punter came up to bet a favourite and had about £115 in small notes which was probably a huge bet for him, he handed the money over and Barry shouted as loud as he could ‘What’ve you done, robbed your mum’s purse?!’ He’d insult and take the piss out of pretty much all of his customers and they loved him, or rather loved to hate him for it, queuing up for more of the same and giving him the rubdown if they won. He’d play up to that too with put on misery, Barry was a genius on the stool and very hard to bet next to.

Maybe the comments on-line are right in the respect that the way some off-course firms have acted have compounded that ‘dislike’ punters feel towards bookmakers. The problem is, and what punters who feel bookmakers are fair game need to realise, is that the on-course layers might well be the human face of the game, they are certainly not the same as the big corporate layers that have probably cheesed you off. It’s a very tough game for on-course bookmakers, they can’t afford to take hits like the hapless layer at York

You will not do business with anyone more honest than a racecourse bookmaker, in not just your sporting life, but any aspect of it. An on-course bookmaker’s entire business depends on people trusting him to pay if he loses, if people don’t trust a firm they won’t bet with them, and if nobody bets with them they are soon out of business. No bookies, no atmosphere, no racecourse, in that order.

Punters, please play the game fair, or the game is gone.

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Things could be a lot hairier back in the 1700 and 1800’s at the races. If you got paid by the gentleman you bet with, didn’t have to buy back your own watch and left the course with a few quid, you couldn’t count your blessings until you got home! Don’t miss this week’s #BettingPeople with ‘Strongholds of Satan’ author Willam Morgan.

#BettingPeople: WILLIAM MORGAN

 

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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