FAMOUS PLUNGERS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9305, 22 March 1907, Page 2

FAMOUS PLUNGERS.

Another nobleman who, like the Marquris of Hastings, rapidly squandered a large fortune on the turf , and met with aoi early and tragic death, was the Earl of Barrymome, who, it is said, ran through a matter of £300,000 in four years. He was only twenty-five years of age when an accidental .gun-snot put an, end to his misspemt and wasted life. Colonel Mellish, a romantic figure, in spite of Us wild ways and the passion fox gambling that was am inherent part of his nature, so ruined himself by betting on horse races and gambling at cards (at the latter game he is said to have more than once lost and won £100,000 at a single sitting), fiat, although he inherited a tremendous property when he came of age, all that was left of it some six yeajre. latex was one solitary farm, Hodsack P-riory, to which, when .tne final wreck of has fortunes came, he ventuaUy retired with his wife, and there lived uatii the day of his death the quiet life of a gentleman farmer.

The .end of most of the famous plungers has been a sad one— fitting finale to theic reckless lives. • The .eccentric "Jack" Mytton, whose numerous escapades and' mad freaks, were they to be (related in extenso, •would suffice to fill a volume, died in prison, where he had been committed for a debt. Yet, at twemty-ome years of age, he had inherited a fortune of some £10,000 a year, and £60,000 in iready money. The whole of it had, however, gone in ten years. He spent &b with: *he most reckless profusion, and his befebLng losses over his horses alone amounted to an «normous

sum. THE "LEVIATHAN" BOOKMAKER.

Davies, the famous bookmaker, whose transactionfe were on smih a gigantic scale that he -was nicknamed the "Leviathan," in spite of the fact that he realised a large fortune, ait times lost tremendously over the more important rapes. Over the Darby which Tedduagton. won in 1851, the King lost tipwanJs of £150,000, two-thirds of which Tejxresented the amount \>f Davaes' liabilities. To one man alone, Sir Joseph Hawley, he paid £30,000 and to another, Mr Charles Oreville, £15,000. Daniel O'Roturke's Derby wee another over which Davies lost heavily. Irwiitated at the refusal of the stable orepxEfieaitatives to accept w£ait the considered to be a fair price, he ordered) his "list clerk" to out up 100 to 1 as the price he was willing to lay against the horse to the public only. He did not lower this rate of odds until he had laid the cole to lose in all £100,000. Daniel O'Rourke very luckily won the race, and Davies found himself the poorer by £80,000. So well was Voltigeur backed fox the Derby of 1850 — lie was a public idol — that over his list-coumter alone Davies paid £40,000 to the fortunate speculators. West Australia's Derby was another bad one for the "Leviathan," as, when his books had been balanced, it was found he was close on £60,000 on the vnjobg side.

GULLY-PUGILIST AND POLITICIAN. Heavy individual losses over the princi-

pal xacee by private speculators occur an- 1 nually, but they are not ofcfcen made public. Gully, who in 'his lifetime played many parts — he was in turn butcher, pugilist, publican, bookmaker, owner ->f 'racehorses, member of Parliament, colliery proprietor, and coumtay squire, a fine example of the progressive evoluitiom — although he was, on the whole, - big winner, at times lost heavily. Whem Matilda won the St.LegeT, in 1827, for instance, he lost £45,000. Ho would not have done so, however, had the race been run fairly. The greater proportion of 'hns bets we/re with the notorious Orockford, the founder of the famous club 1 which bore his name. The latter suborned the starter, and had half-a-dozen' halftarained Jiorses sent to the post — a common track in those unregenerate days — in order to upset Gully's horse, Mameluke, by their antics. The plot succeeded only too well, for although Mameluke made up witlh giant strides the ground he had lost at the start, he could not quite get up in time, and was beaten- half a length. It was over this race, by the way, that the Earl of Glasgow, a bold and determined. plungeT when in the humor, lost nearly £30,000. When JeTry won the St. Leger in 1824, Mt George Payne, the well known owneor of racehorses, lost, on Gadly's advice, upwairds of £30,000. Not that it was the latter's fault, however. He had learnt, quite correctly -enough, that a conspiracy had been formed to prevent Jerry winning, although, he did) not know the chief actors in it, or how it was /to be carried out. Fortunately, however, the plot miscarried.. The jockey who was to ride Jerry, and who had been itim.per.ed with, was dispaaced in consequence of certain knowledge having com© ito his 1 master's ears, and the mount given to another Tider, who, as the Tesult of doing his best, won easily. One of >the biggest gambling owners on the Turf at itihe present time is* the well known American sportsman, Mr John A. Drake, who, some four years ago, ran houses an England with conspicuous success, one animal, Royal Elush, an ex-selling planter, winning for him the Royal Hunt Oup and the Stewards' Cup in one season, as well as a huge fortune in bets. His luck lately on the American Turf, however, has been execrable — so bad, in fact, that her is credited' with the intention of retiring from , the sport. In this way, it is reported, Mr Brake and; his partner, Mr John W. Gates, have between) them lost considerably over

£100,000.

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