In our new twice-weekly series, Lords Of The Ring, we go around the country to get an insight from on-course bookmakers on life in the ‘Jungle’. Our third instalment takes us to Sandown.
Name Gerry Chesneaux
Age 67
Started in the ring 1992
How did you get into bookmaking?
I was a greyhound trainer and at 26 was actually the youngest at the time to hold a licence. I spent my days off helping out the on-course bookmakers and became a tic-tac man before progressing to be a rails bookmaker myself, although I class myself as more of a layer.
When did you take your first massive bet?
I wouldn’t remember the name of the horse but it would have been at Royal Ascot. I used to stand next to David Power at the royal meeting and I remember after the second race on the third day I was losing towards £200,000 and he was losing far more. I said to David ‘this is a good game, isn’t it’. He was smoking his pipe, as he normally did. He removed his pipe and said ‘Gerry, it’s not even half-time yet’ in his soft accent. We both ended the week winning.
What was your best day in the ring?
I remember somebody coming up to me as I was setting up before racing at Sandown and asking the price of the Derby winner Motivator in the 2005 Eclipse. I had a quick look and he was 1-2. The punter asked if he could have a bigger price so I offered him 8-15 thinking he would put down £100 or something like that. He told me he wanted a big bet and ended up putting down £15,000. Kieren Fallon did me a favour by winning on 12-1 shot Oratorio.
What was your worst day?
Again, it would have been at Royal Ascot – that meeting can go one way or the other. There have been days when nearly every favourite has won, and when they didn’t there was a 20-1 winner in one of the sprints who somebody had £2,000 each-way on.
How does it feel taking a big bet?
You get a thrill and excitement, especially when you get it right. I don’t bet on the exchanges, I bet to an opinion and from that I form my prices.
What made you fall in love with the ring?
I grew up with and knew some great characters and I loved everything about gambling. There used to be a real camaraderie in the ring and with the tic-tacs it used to be like a travelling circus. We didn’t have red noses, but we went from track to track. We settled up from the previous day at the beginning of the next.
How do you assess the current state of on-course bookmaking?
My turnover since the exchanges became widely used, online betting became more popular and the pandemic is down 50 per cent. Crowds are also down and that’s impacting the ring. It’s no longer as appealing, especially in the winter when you can sit at home and watch it on TV. The biggest killer of all is the volume of races. There’s just too much racing and often you have meetings too close together taking place at the same time. I think they should have one day off with a better spread around the country, not least for the staff in racing.
What’s your golden rule of bookmaking?
It’s like having a bet, play too what you can afford to lose. Don’t play too big because you’ll get your fingers burnt.
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