Bill Waterhouse, legendary bookmaker, dead at 97
Robbie Waterhouse has led the tributes for his father Bill, who has died aged 97, saying the former leviathan bookmaker lived “an extraordinary life”.
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Bill Waterhouse, the biggest bookmaker of them all, has taken his last bet.
With his family by his side, the patriarch of the most famous family in Australian racing, died Friday morning. He was 97.
Waterhouse, a physically imposing man, was a colossus of the betting ring. His famously robust constitution had given a long, healthy life until recent months.
Very sad that we have lost my father, Bill Waterhouse. He left us peacefully with his family by his side. He was in great spirits till the end. He enjoyed a great day with all his great-grandchildren last Sunday. pic.twitter.com/2xLsPrvurQ
— Rob Waterhouse (@RobWaterhouse) November 21, 2019
“Dad became more and more frail over time,’’ Rob Waterhouse told The Daily Telegraph on Friday. “He himself knew two days ago that he wasn’t going to make it much longer.
“I must say the doctor said as recently as (Friday) morning he had never had a patient fight more than my father – but we knew he was in trouble.
“He was in great spirits till the end. He left us peacefully, with his family by his side.
“He has lived an extraordinary life.”
Bill Waterhouse studied law at the University of Sydney and worked as a barrister before becoming a full-time bookmaker in the mid-1950s.
He became the biggest bookmaker and gambler of them all and his duels with fearless punters like Kerry Packer, Felipe Ysmael, Frank Duval, Ray Hopkins and Peter Huxley is the stuff of racetrack legend.
Waterhouse also accepted what is believed to be the first $1 million bet on a horse race when Ysmael challenged him to the wager at a small Victorian country meeting in 1968.
“That was the biggest single bet I took, the day Felipe Ysmael had $1 million on a horse with me in Melbourne,’’ Waterhouse told me in 2010.
“$1 million in those days would have taken you a long way in a tram!”
Waterhouse lost that bet but eventually won his betting duel with Ysmael.
The bookmaker saw all the great champions of the turf from the great Phar Lap, to Bernborough, Tulloch, Kingston Town, Makybe Diva and Black Caviar but earlier this year was moved to race Sydney’s wonder mare Winx as the greatest of them all.
Waterhouse always attracted controversy but nothing like the ignominy he and son, Robbie, endured, after being warned off for having prior knowledge of the 1984 Fine Cotton ring-in scandal.
He always maintained his innocence of any wrongdoing and addressed the Fine Cotton incident in his autobiography “What Are The Odds?” released a decade ago.
“My numerous trials and tribulations with racing officials and court cases were all part of life’s tapestry,’’ Waterhouse wrote.
“The Fine Cotton betting scandal cruelly and unfairly took away my livelihood and almost made me an outcast, but it drew my family even closer.’’
Waterhouse did not regain his bookmaker’s licence until 2002, where he trained his grandson, Tom, as a fourth-generation Waterhouse bookmaker. They became the nation’s largest on-course bookmaker in 2007 and 2008.
Robbie’s wife Gai Waterhouse, the champion trainer, paid tribute to her father-in-law.
“Bill was such a kind, wonderful man and he adored his family,’’ Gai said. “He was a role model to his children and grandchildren.
“He took bookmaking to another level and fielded at major race meetings all over the world.
“But I think his greatest legacy is that of a husband, father, and grandfather.’’
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys said: “Bill Waterhouse was a true racing character who had presence, charisma and charm. He was both fearless and controversial and added atmosphere and colour to any betting ring.”
Originally published as Bill Waterhouse, legendary bookmaker, dead at 97