Nothing beats betting jungle
Turf queen Julie Williams signs for the Post
When it comes to filling big shoes, Julie Williams is well used to the question.
Succeeding her late father, the legendary Freddie Williams, was never going to be easy.
A man whose reputation for laying eye- watering bets in the cauldron of the Cheltenham betting jungle, he wasn’t known as ‘ Fearless’ for nothing.
Now, some ten years after his death and in an era where betting exchanges call the tune, it is Julie who relishes the challenge of keeping the legacy alive.
Sitting in the company’s traditional Cumnock shop ( they have a second just down the road in Auchinleck), it is a far cry from the famous Cheltenham headlines for which the Freddie Williams name became renowned.
Paying out £ 1 million on one “devastating” day in 2006, which included an ambush by thugs when leaving the track, remains the stuff of which those headlines are made.
“These are the stories people want to talk about, and I can understand why,” says Julie, who is warmly greeted by a steady stream of customers on her shop floor.
“I guess I’m part of the furniture in here,” she laughs.
“From the age of six, I was taking down football scores for the coupons and was sneaked behind the counter to work in the Cumnock shop at 13.
“It’s all I ever knew.
“The problem came when I wanted to earn some more money.
“I had my heart set on two pairs of chinos and two chino shirts and worked out I could earn the money for them far quicker by being a lifeguard at Ayr baths.
“I don’t think dad was too happy, but I ended back here anyway!”
Julie would join forces again with her old man following a stint at university studying community education.
On course in the heat of the betting jungle, it was no place for the faint hearted.
Julie, now 45, recalls: “There weren’t many female role models for me within the industry... people I could point to and say ‘ I want to be like her’.
“The best person to learn from was always going to be dad.
“He bought his Cheltenham pitch in 1999 and I first went down with him in 2000.
“It was an eye opener and, as has become legend, the bets he would lay were scary.
“Standing there watching it, I just had to have total trust and faith in what he was doing.
“It’s great that his legacy is living on, but in a way that Cheltenham stuff doesn’t tell half the story.
“This was someone with 50- odd years of experience in the industry.
“Few people talk now about him being a bookie’s runner for the miners’ pitch and toss games.
“Or his ability to identify a dog at Auchinleck just by its stride pattern.
“He was an original and I’m not sure he’d have enjoyed the way the industry has changed.
“But our shops have remained traditional and I’m proud of that.
“We employ 10 staff, all of them local, and 90 per cent of our trade is over the counter gambling.
“The customer service and personal touch is something on which we pride ourselves.”
• Now Julie is gearing up for Scottish Grand National week by joining the Ayrshire Post’s award winning team.
She will bring readers her thoughts on the week’s racing each and every Wednesday.
See left for her debut column, complete with free National bet.