What Are The Odds? The Bill Waterhouse Story – Bill Waterhouse

What Are The Odds? The Bill Waterhouse Story is the tell-all tale – on and off the track – of a legendary man and his extraordinary family.

Bill Waterhouse has worked the track for more than 70 years, his first day as a bookmaker in his own name was Epsom Day 1954. Henry Waterhouse, his ancestor, brought horses to Australia with the First Fleet . This family had no choice but to follow their destiny and become THE dynastic Australian horseracing family and we are now into the fourth generation of Waterhouse bookmakers. Bill was a practising barrister, albeit well-known at the track, and bookmaking was a side business until his brother, Charlie died suddenly and he ‘temporarily’ took the family bag to the track, at 87, he can still be found trackside.

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Bill was renowned for his exciting betting duals with giant punters such as Sir Frank Duval (the Hong Kong Tiger), Felipe Ysmael (The Babe) and Ray Hopkins (Hoppy). He wasn’t frightened of the odds or the punters – taking the world’s largest bet in 1968, defying George Freemans’ dodgy deals and bearing the brunt of unpaid debts from a young Kerry Packer. He was billed by the media as the world’s biggest gambler and was a regular visitor – taking the family with him in style – to Las Vegas.

His life away from racing has been as large as that on the rails – from pubs and real estate to after shave and roads. If there was a deal going, he was ready to be a part of it. Bill has been the Honorary Consul-General of Tonga for many years and has business interests across the Pacific.

Featuring stories of barristers, politicians and other prominent characters, his real estate empire, the punting battles with the Packers, the family law suit that took ten years and $10 million to resolve, and the real story of the Fine Cotton affair that saw Bill and his son Robbie banned from any involvement in racing for many years.

Bill Waterhouse is a true Australian character and he has all the story-telling charm and wiles to seduce any reader.

Links and Further Reading

• Watch an ABC story on the Launch of Bill Waterhouse’s biography

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