There is no real need for David Power to be spending four days on his feet in the wild jungle of the betting ring at the Cheltenham Festival.
After all, as one of the founders of the Paddy Power bookmaking operation – which has grown from a string of merged shops in 1988 to a multimillion euro behemoth – the veteran has already set not only himself up for life, but generations of Powers to come.
However, as he basked in the spring sunshine from his pitch overlooking the racecourse and Cleeve Hill beyond, it was easy to understand why.
“Where else would I want to be this week?” he said. “I’ve done it all my life – it’s a hard habit to break.”
Power runs his on-course operation under the name of his grandfather, Richard, who began the family concern. He has one of the prime positions “on the rails”, at the edge of the ring, with a phalanx of helpers to take bets and crunch the numbers.
It is an age when online and telephone betting is thought to have sucked away much of the old-fashioned camaraderie between punter and bookie but Power is one of the few remaining that will take a bet in person.
“You never talk figures,” he said sagely. “The atmosphere doesn’t seem to be as quite as good now – I suppose it’s the advent of betting exchanges determining what prices they are, and there used to be more characters in the ring. There’s still a few, mind.”
Day one went the way of the bookmakers and the theme continued on day two as hot favourite Neon Wolf was beaten in the opener and the well-fancied Tombstone sank without trace in the Coral Cup, a huge gambling race. Then even the supposedly unbeatable Douvan had an off day in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Momentum
"Once you have a good start you've got a bit of momentum, you're ahead of the posse," explained Ray Mulvaney, a second-generation bookie from Dún Laoghaire who had a licence from the age of 18. He worked through point-to-points and the greyhounds to a position of having pitches at all the grandest meetings either side of the Irish Sea.
“The idea is to have low liabililities – the more money you take, the more in control you are of the situation. That’s why our old name is turf accountant.”
Once the show is over, and the wider sporting world moves on, racing’s travelling circus continues.
“We were at Naas on Sunday, drove home and changed the money over, took the [ferry] from Dublin Port to Holyhead on the Monday. We’re on track from 9.30am to 7.30pm and won’t stop working til 9pm, checking our accounts,” said Mulvaney.
“We’ll catch the midnight boat on Friday, then another of the guys will go off to Limerick on Saturday morning. It never stops but it’s how we get a living.”
Mulvaney is more encouraged about the future of his industry than Power. “People do like to deal in cash – have a bet with me and you’ll get paid out with a smile, and civility. You can build up a bit of a personal thing. That’s what we have to offer. When you bet on the phone, the money’s in there, you think you own it but you don’t, you gamble it back.
“We’re colourful characters and I think people enjoy it. It’s an an integral part of the racecourse and hopefully it will last longer than people give us credit for.”
