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HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGEDI
West Australian Racing
bookielover
2,709 posts
I happened to stumble across an article written by by journalist David Hickey back in 1986 in which he managed to obtain the turnover figures for the top 10 bookies who operated at Randwick for the 1985/ 86 season and the top 8 Interstate bookies for that same period.
Now, it's important to note that the turnover figures which I will post here, are ONLY for the meetings worked at Randwick and no other courses in Sydney. Most of the local and interstate bookies worked all 29 meetings. Bierne worked 28, Peter Tood only worked 20 so that's a decent holding working 9 meetings less than the others. Lobb worked 25. In the interstate ring, Barrett only worked 18 out of a possible 29,
LOCAL BOOKIES
1. Dominic Bierne $16,699,000
2. Roger Manning $ 10,658,000
3. Phil Matt's $ 7, 129,000
4. Peter Todd. $ 4,275, 000
5. Con Kafataris. $ 4,003,000
6. Shelton. $ 3,781,000
7. Hyer $ 3,636,000
8, Mchugh. $ 3,616,000
9. Deluca. $ 3, 051,000
10. Digger Lobb. $ 2,449,000
I don't know Shelton, and Hyer's first names, first names weren't provided on the list. Mchugh may be Bruce Mchugh's brother but I'm
not sure. I think Deluca's first name was Ron. Digger Lobb got the name Digger as he was a WW 2, vet. I never met Phil Matts but did know a relative of his who worked for a betting shop in Vanuatu that I bet with. I didn't know Con Kafataris or Peter Todd but was very friendly with Roger Manning, a messy divorce stuffed him, and knew Dominic Bierne when he'd come to Melbourne. He bet with my dad.
BOOKIES WORKING ON INTERSTATE MEETINGS
1. Bruce Mchugh. $ 18,514,000
2. Bill Hurley. $ 9,344,000
3. Colin Tidy $ 5,552,000
4. Charlie Damore $ 4,653,000
5, John Lollback $ 3,163,000
6. Doug Jordan $ 2,800,000
7. Butch Wylie $ 2,523,000
8. Harry Barrett $ 1,368,000
The only bookies I knew from that ring were Butch Wylie, who was a lovely bloke and I used to bet with him on the interstate dog meetings, mainly Melbourne, when he worked at Wentworth Park. Passed away way too young. The other was Harry Barrett who was quite friendly with my dad and I met him quite a few times.
I rarely agree with Carey, a member here, but he's always said that the betting on the rails in Sydney, was massive, and the above figures prove it. I can tell you that no bookie in Melbourne at that time was turning over the money at 28 meetings at Flemington, that Bierne was holding at Randwick.
By the way the bookies were paying 2.25% turnover tax, so with excess, a bookie holing what Bierne was, was paying around 30,000 in turnover tax and expenses every meeting.
The above figures are from 40 years ago and it tells us all what we know already, the game for on course bookies is just one about survival and earning. The gambling bookie has completely disappeared as have the punters who bet with them.
I've said it before and will say it again. I really feel for forum members out there who will never experience what blokes like me, and others here in our 70's experienced in the betting rings of 40 years ago.
+1 -1
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He would always let us on for whatever with a roll of the board, and then send his men off to bet on those nags.
I am pretty sure he had a bigger turnover that a lot of the rails bookies in Melbourne at the time
When he got promoted to the rails, he stopped letting us on, and I have no idea why he did that.
It was probably when Dom was doing the handicapping review for RWWA.
Dom just told him, that yes he knows me, and that I was something of a times and math expert.
Hunter then decided to ask nothing more from Dom about me.
I have no idea why Dom would think me a math expert, as it's one of my weaker points, and he himself is very good at numbers.
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Whatever, those good times came to an end ~1990 when punters suddenly grew smarter because Scott educated the idiots with his books, and the over-rounds suddenly meant less and less opportunities for people like me.
That was when I decided to toss it in and start watching birds instead.
Year later I got asked to join a syndicate where Dom was asked too and how I met him.
That was financed by Mat Tripp, and I don't believe it ever got to the stage where it was making money.
My only regret is that one guy I liked and got on with, lost 3 or 4 million because Tripp demanded guarantees before he would put money in.
I was long gone when that happened though.
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It was the day Sauna won her first race in Melbourne at a Wednesday meeting in 1984 I think it may have been
I would have no idea if he is still doing it..
here ....... @gettingcloser
Hopefully he is still alive and kicking.
I can vaguely recall Dom saying he was having major health issues.....maybe his prostate.
Can't remember where it was, maybe Lonsdale St.
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I think this discussion is really about the decline of the WA TAB and the slow disappearance of a once-familiar figure on the racing scene — the traditional bookmaker.
Let me throw in my two cents.
In my view, a major turning point for racing in Western Australia came when the Burswood Casino — what some of us jokingly still call the old Rivervale rubbish dump — was built. When the casino project was being put together, its backers wanted a connection with the horse-racing industry. That connection largely came through Dallas Dempster, who helped assemble the group behind the casino and was himself a racehorse owner.
At the time, the Western Australian Turf Club welcomed the casino’s money with open arms. In hindsight, that decision was a mistake — a big one. The casino wasn’t really a partner; it was competition. It drew people away from the racetrack, reducing race-day attendance and siphoning betting dollars away from both the TAB and the on-course bookmakers.
Things changed even more when corporate bookmakers were allowed to operate openly in Australia. That move further spread punters’ money away from traditional betting channels. Then came Betfair, which turned the model on its head by allowing punters to effectively act as the bookmaker themselves.
Looking back, it’s hard not to think that governments at the time underestimated the long-term consequences. Policies allowed the casino to introduce games like Two-Up under conditions that seemed almost limitless — unless you were more than 200 kilometres away. At the same time, Western Australia maintained a ban on poker machines in pubs and clubs, something that remains unique compared with the eastern states.
Some people believe that decision limited the kind of entertainment venues available here. On the east coast, many RSLs and clubs rely heavily on pokies and offer a broader entertainment environment as a result.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of those policies, the impact on racing has been clear. These days, only a small handful of bookmakers still operate at race meetings, and many of them mostly handle smaller, casual bets at relatively high margins.
If current trends continue, it’s possible that by 2030 the traditional on-course bookmaker could almost disappear entirely. For long-time racing followers, that would mark the end of a colourful and historic part of the sport.
For punters, the landscape has changed dramatically — and it may change even more in the years ahead, When the Woke Police Take Control.
At that time Lotto will be your wishing well, Good luck to anyone still having a bet.
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