Nothing clever about blowing the profit from a 3 month plan in the very next race unless that is 3 month plan that you are also in on. If big hitters are just following the money then what you say makes sense but if it was connections, they would be on the second bottle by the time the next race started.

Like others I enjoy reading Simon's tales from the betting ring.

What I did notice from the Royal Ascot week that a lot of bets struck were from the trade in other words other bookmakers hedging their liabilities.

However while Brighton based Star have been known to take on the heavy hitters consider this.

William Davis was born in 1819 and was working  as a carpenter repairing the subscription rooms in Newmarket.

He heard about some upcoming races and decided money could be made so he started laying half crown bets he became a success at bookmaking then moved to London taking bets and was the first to actually hang up lists of the runners at various places in London.

This eventually became illegal following an act of parliament.

He rose to the top of the bookmaking profession when he laid The Earl of Strafford £12,000 to £1,000 on his horse  The Cur the 1848 Cesarewitch and duly paid the Earl the following day.

He lost over £100,000 in 1852 when outsider Daniel O'Rouke won the Derby but started out the year 1853 with a bank balance of £130,000 in the London and Westminster bank.

Apparently daily travel took its toll and he wound up his business at the Houghton meeting at Newmarket in 1857.

He retired to live in Brighton and on the death of his wife in his will he left £50,000 for Brighton Council to open Preston Park in Brighton.

For those who travel by car to Brighton it is a big park just as one enters the city.

Known in his life as The Leviathan put the majority of current bookmakers to shame.

PS known about his exploits for a while but more details on Wikipedia.

Howard you mentioned pilsudski I remember backing a Paul melon horse at goodwood who had no luck in running and just failed to get up the horse that beat him in that handicap was pilsudski

jimnast, was that horse ROKEBY BOWL , sorry if spelling is wrong

Good memory elis   

In July, Pilsudski won at his fifth attempt, staying on strongly to win a mile and a quarter handicap at Newmarket under a light weight.[7] Two weeks later, he followed up over a mile and a half at Glorious Goodwood, winning another handicap by a neck from Rokeby Bowl.[8] On his final start of the year he finished third to the future Caulfield Cup winner Taufan's Melody in a handicap at Ascot in September.

Star turned down a 800k -200 k   ( 4/1 )  on a 7/2 chance at RA.  The horse lost.  Think they would have made a book on that race even at RA ?

So faces are the ones they expect to know something? Why not lay most of it off at a lower price if possible?

I meant faces it terms of individuals not whether they know something.  At the end of the day they are there to take money. That's what they do by the look of it. If they want to take more money from one person than another that's up to them.  Most punters haven't a clue regarding bookmaking and making it pay.  Why should they ? But maybe many should keep their mouths shut.  I have held a bookmakers licence btw.

in a week when most thought bookies had the better of it

thanks GC.  I think it's clear they took plenty of big bets without hedging too much if anything. As I say what they take and what they don't take is entirely up to them. Even if the price is still on the board. Plenty of people have failed at on course bookmaking because you're not going to make much money if you need to avoid individual big losing horses.

I'm surprised on knocking a 13/8 back, more so the RP printing it.
Bit different from Simon calling for big hitters wherever you are, let's be having you, and taking on "bagmen".

I'm outdated tho, my only dealing with Star, was bumping into his arbers running around central London shops a few year back.

As I said earlier bookmakers laying what there comfortable with is absolutely right and perhaps they were aware the strength of the horse involved and thought I better to lay at much shorter.