PAYING UP FOR RIVAL

Q You were at the Gold Coast Turf Club when a bookmaker decided to up and leave before the end of the meeting, leaving many punters fuming. What happened?

A There was a bookmaker in the outer ring and at the end of second last race in Melbourne he immediately grabbed his betting bag and left the track. He must have run up a big loss or had a bad day. His betting ledgers were still there, his clerks and the (details for) winning bets to be paid were there too.

Q If you didn’t have a big enough name before then, you certainly did after. Is it true you took it upon yourself to pay out all the winning tickets to the angry punters?

A Yes. I just went straight to the stewards and told them to tell those punters to come to my stand after the last race and they will be paid. We paid out all the winning tickets and averted a terrible situation. I think it was in the vicinity of about $1500. I got a letter from the Gold Coast Turf Club president at the time, Brien Murphy, saying ‘Your action undoubtedly saved a number of embarrassing situations and reflects great credit on your ethics in matters such as occurred.’ The bookmaker that did a runner hasn’t been seen since.

Q Why did you want to get involved and pay out the winnings from your own pocket?

A It was no good because we had a good reputation here at the Gold Coast as a bookmaking group. Having that happen would have been bad for our image.