2 months ago
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RACING and bookie legend Barry Dennis – who found fame alongside John McCririck on Channel 4 – has died aged 83.
An icon of the betting ring and huge personality who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, Dennis’ back-and-forths with McCririck on the hugely popular Morning Line show were simply must-see TV.
News Group Newspapers Ltd
News Group Newspapers Ltd
Dennis was a ferocious layer, famously shunning small bets and often refusing to take punts from women… even though he happily posed with them for the TV camerasPunters everywhere dreaded finding out they had backed his ‘Barry Bismarck’ – a favourite he thought would lose.
A larger-than-life character who ultimately became ‘Britain’s best known bookie’, Dennis bet on track for more than 40 years and rarely missed a meeting at Lingfield.
He was a true workaholic who loved the game, driving more than 50,000 miles to tracks all over the country and working 300 days a year.
Never afraid to lay a big bet, he said he lost his house in Frankie Dettori’s Magnificent Seven at Ascot in 1996.
But he also starred in his own documentary called ‘Bookies Never Lose’ and turned over around £15million a year at his peak.
Fellow bookie Geoff Banks was among those paying tribute to a hero of many, whose on-screen sparring partner McCririck passed away in 2019 aged 79.
He said: “Oh my God. I am so very sad to hear of the passing of a great friend and a giant of the betting ring.”
Leading industry figure Ben Keith said: “He had a much bigger heart than people realised.
“He reached out to people, had a big way of loving and he was without doubt the on-course bookmaker of his generation.
“He captured the sentiment, the moment, with John McCririck, with his Bismarck… people used to huddle round his pitch just listening to him being rude to people at Royal Ascot!
“He was the big boss at Lingfield, where he played at home.
“I celebrate the life of Barry Dennis. He is an example to us all. He lived, loved and worked on his own terms. A true alpha male.”
Bookie James Lovell wrote: “Really sad to hear about Barry Dennis, someone I admired and was absolutely terrified of in equal measure – a proper bookie.”
While Barry Pinnington, whose pitches can be seen at racetracks the country over, said: “Very sad to hear of the passing of Barry Dennis.
“He was a great character of the ring to which most aspiring bookies looked up to. A very sad day. RIP Barry x.”
Dennis quit the game for good in 2011, handing the family business down to son Patrick.
He said he wanted to ‘take a back seat’ with the relentless grind of the game starting to get him down.
Speaking of his decision to retire in 13 years ago, he said: “I’ve been doing the Morning Line for 15 years, but it had become a bit of a chore.
“I’m one of the grumpy old men now, I don’t want to go somewhere if it involves heavy traffic, parking, getting out afterwards and all that nonsense so I certainly won’t miss Royal Ascot or Glorious Goodwood.
“I’m approaching 50 years in the game, I’ve done 2½ million miles in the car and I’ve not had one accident, but I find the driving the hardest part of the game now.
“I once told someone that if I hadn’t been a bookie, I’d have been a long-distance lorry driver, and I meant it because I loved driving.
“I used to do 300 meetings a year and 50,000 miles in the car.
“But one day in December I had to drive three hours to get to a racecourse in the snow on the M25, and when I got there the racing was off so it was another three hours back. I suddenly thought, do I need this?”
Dennis ultimately decided he didn’t – and his presence and voice, which came to signify a golden age of punting and racing, will be missed by many.
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