“Big Bill" was the most fearless bookmaker, who took on all of Australia’s biggest punters and beat them

The Waterhouse name is synonymous with racing and gambling, and the family has been associated with plenty of controversy over the years. "Big Bill" Waterhouse was one of the most prominent figures in the racing industry and was known for his involvement in numerous controversial events. Waterhouse, the patriarch of the most famous family in Australian racing, was also a contradiction. He played life like he played gamblers – he took his chances. Trainer's, former jockeys and journalists used to make one bold claim, as to three things you should always try to avoid in life; Dirty Shithouses, Whorehouses and Waterhouse's. Bookmakers are hardened souls. They have to be. They are at war with the punter for his hard-earned dollar and plenty resented Bill for this. Waterhouse was different things to different people. He had his enemies but in his business, that came with the territory. Bill was the largest seller of liquor in the 1940s, he was the leading hotelier in Australia in the 1950s and the world’s leading bookmaker for 40 years.

The name Waterhouse has been synonymous with Australian horse racing since 1898, when a 21-year-old named Charles Waterhouse started his bookmaking career and began a bookmaking dynasty which continued when his son Bill Waterhouse first fielded on Epsom Handicap day, 1954. The bookmaking odyssey of Bill Waterhouse actually started in 1938 at the age of 16, when he began clerking for his father; however, family pressure saw him study Arts and Law at Sydney University. Apparently, in those early days the a young Bill would prepare an all-in betting market for his University punting friends. Waterhouse was a lawyer and part-time bookie until the death of his brother Charles in 1954 and he quickly made the transition from barrister to bookmaker. Bill would transform himself into, not only the most fearless, but also the most intimidating king of bookies in Sydney.

To illustrate the magnitude of Bill Waterhouse’s bookmaking days, way back in 1968 he held the world’s biggest bet to lose $1 million dollars and the horse won. He fearlessly took on legendary punters with names to match - the 'Filipino Fireball' Felipe Ysmael, the 'Hong Kong Tiger' Frank Duval and Kerry Packer who he said defaulted on a debt of more than $1 million. According to Bill, “I beat them all, eventually”, and his betting duels with these legendary punters are clearly detailed. Waterhouse was betting the ring, taking the steel from not just one punter but up to 20 huge punters at the same time. Crafty as he was clever, Bill would often deliberately bet a pro over the odds wanting to elicit inside dirt on certain runners. He stood tall as the biggest bookie in Australian racing and was even allowed to deal Royal Ascot.

In 1973, Bill’s son Robbie followed the family tradition and fielded his first day at Newcastle. Amazingly, Robbie’s son Tom has also continued an extraordinary family journey by taking to the bookmaker’s stand for the first time in September, 2003, also at Newcastle, some 30 years after his dad. Bill never stopped doing the form even when he and son Robbie spent 17 years on the sidelines over the notorious Fine Cotton substitution scandal - of which Bill Waterhouse said in his memoir - they were scapegoats. While he was a leviathan bookmaker, Bill Waterhouse became a household name with the Fine Cotton scandal. Bill and Robbie were warned off racetracks by the Australian Jockey Club, the authority at the time, for having prior knowledge of the substitution of Bold Personality for the lesser performed Fine Cotton. The Waterhouses were reinstated in 2002, but Bill's connections to shady underworld figures was notorious.

The drugging of Cup favourite Big Philou in the hours before the running of Australia's biggest race was a major scandal at the time and one that still reverberates more than half a century later. In 1969, huge sums were wagered on Big Philou completing the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup doubles, and the Bart Cummings trained stallion delivered on the first part of the wager by taking out the Caulfield Cup. On the night before the Cup, a strapper called Les Lewis who had recently been sacked by Cummings for ill-treating horses, used his knowledge of the stables to get access to Big Philou and fed the horse a huge dose of the laxative Danthron. Just 40 minutes before the Cup was to be run, Big Philou was scratched. Among the interesting evidence after Les Lewis was picked up in New Zealand, were phone records showing Lewis had made several calls to the office of Bill Waterhouse - a fair indication that Bill was down to lose big if the Cummings horse won the race and had some involvement.

Bart had the satisfaction of some measure of revenge which he served up nice and cold in 1974. Five years on from the Big Philou scandal, the standout of the Cummings yard was the mare Leilani. Ahead of a big race being contested by the mare, Waterhouse judged that Cummings would have got over the Big Philou affair and so he asked the master trainer about Leilani's chances. Cummings, appearing to take Waterhouse into his confidence, claimed the mare was below her best and unlikely to win. Waterhouse, acting on what he considered golden inside information, then offered the most generous odds on Leilani of any bookie and consequently took a mountain of bets, safe in the belief she could not win.

Of course, Leilani won the race comfortably. A furious and financially devastated Waterhouse sought out Cummings for an explanation as to why he gave him the proverbial 'bum steer'. 'That's for Big Philou,' was Bart's simple and priceless reply. Cummings went to his grave in 2013 having never forgiven Waterhouse for the events of 1969.

Some that knew Bill Waterhouse believe he was a terrible man in every respect. A psychopath of the highest order who did some terrible things and stood alone in his narcissism and selfishness. The proof they say is his direct connection to the 1984 murder of Sydney horse trainer George Brown, alleging Tongan ties. Waterhouse, a former Honorary Consul General for the Kingdom of Tonga in Sydney had sort out Brown to fix a race for him that the trainer reneged on. When the deal fell through Bill sent in some heavies to force Brown to pay up, but they went too far, resulting in his death. The culprits were never caught, however Bill’s son David claimed to police that his father admitted being involved.

Then in 2010, Waterhouse decided at 88 years of age to retire from bookmaking. As a boy, Bill saw Phar Lap race at Randwick, winning three times over the seven days of the (1930) AJC Carnival. He always rated Phar Lap as the greatest horse he'd seen and Black Caviar as the fastest, but now has to acknowledge, Winx is the superior to Phar Lap. In Bill’s opinion, Winx is the best racehorse he ever saw race in his 97 years. The larger then life character died on November 22, 2019.