Helen Vernet
Encyclopedia
Helen Vernet was the first woman in the history of horseracing in Great Britain to be granted a license that permitted a person “of fit and proper character” to legally carry out business as a bookmaker
on a racecourse in accordance with the Betting Houses Act of 1853 and subsequent amendments.
Born Helen Monica Mabel Cunningham, at the age of 17 she married Spencer Thornton, a stockbroker by profession. Apparently, this was not a happy union from the outset as the marriage ended in annulment
. As a result of a marriage annulment rather than a divorce, in accordance with Matrimonial Causes Act 1857
, both parties were free to marry again. Which Helen in due course did when she married yet another stockbroker, Robert Vernet.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
While little is known of Helen Vernet’s early life. It is claimed that her family descended from noble Scots ancestry, indeed the Cunningham
name does have strong connections with Scotland
.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx Reportedly, as a child she inherited some £8,000 following the death of her father. As a result, when she became of age and with capital of her own, she quickly developed a taste for gambling and a fondness to go racing as often as she could. Unfortunately, Helen Vernet was not yet a skilled enough operator of the kind she was later to become, gradually dissipating most of her inheritance in the process of her activities.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
In the days when Tote
pool betting was not yet a feature on British racecourses and the rough and tumble of the betting ring was very much a male preserve and socially out of bounds to the opposite sex. Helen Vernet had noticed that many women who like her went racing, also liked to have a bet. The problem was that for those women in the Tattersalls enclosure and grandstand areas wanting to place a small wager the only available bookmakers were located along the rails. And, because entry to such areas on a racecourse was more expensive than to the general public enclosures, bookmakers along the Tattersalls rails were more inclined to accept larger bets. Indeed, when approached, they would often refuse to accept small stakes of less than a Pound in value.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
So, following the end of World War I
in 1918 and the recommencement of horserace meetings in Britain, she made it known that she was willing to take small bets from female acquaintances who like her, attended local race meetings throughout the English Home Counties
. Unfortunately, as word got around and demand for her services visibly increased, her illegal and unlicensed activities soon came to the attention of the authorities – and she was duly “warned off”http://www.horse-races.net/library/review-041403.htm – being the procedure whereby a person of proven dubious character is banned from attending official racecourse meetings in Britain for a set period of time.
However, her activities had not gone unnoticed and she was soon recruited by bookmaker Arthur Bendir, who had been running the Ladbrokes
bookmaking firm since 1902. Under the direction of Bendir, in 1913 Ladbrokes had established an office in the heart of London’s Mayfair
with the intention of servicing the horserace betting needs of an elite client base drawn from the ranks of the British aristocracy and upper classes who frequented the nearby exclusive gentlemen's club
s of White's
, Boodle's
, the Carlton
, the Athenaeum
and the Royal Automobile Club
.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx It was thought that because of Helen Vernet's family social connections, she would be well-placed to discreetly attract upper-crust female racegoers of the time and then, by association, plenty of their equally well-heeled partners.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-az-of-betting-1144663.html
While prior to 1961, and the passing of the Gaming and Betting Act that allowed the introduction of off-course betting shops to the UK, all horserace betting on an up-front cash basis was restricted to racecourses only. However, betting on a previously agreed credit settlement basis between bookmaker and client was not. Indeed, in his 1985 autobiography "The Life and Secrets of a Professional Punter" Alex Bird, renowned British professional horserace punter of the post-war
1940s and 50s, profiled both Ladbrokes and Mrs Verney (as he called her) as follows …
“In the late 1940s I did not think about opening an account with Ladbrokes. Their form was in a different league to the rest of the bookmaking world. They were not involved in the competitiveness of the ring. Their clients were mainly members of the aristocracy and without calling the odds, Ladbrokes representatives like Mrs Verney, a grey-haired dignified woman who looked about seventy if she was a day, were merely there to accept bets for very large amounts, without any fuss. Mrs Verney stood by the rails at Newmarket and no one would ever have guessed that in the hurly burly of the racetrack, she was taking bets. While other bookmakers shouted out their odds she hardly ever spoke.”
Under the guidance and tutelage of her mentor, Arthur Bendir, Helen Vernet was made a partner in the firm in 1928 and was paid a reputed £20,000 per year in salary and commission as Ladbrokes
on-course rails representative.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx While never one to hoard money, she enjoyed an elegant and comfortable lifestyle that afforded the Vernets the opportunity to eventually settle at 49 Eaton Place in London’s Belgravia
and holiday regularly on the French Riviera
where she liked to gamble at the casino tables. But nevertheless, she insisted on working almost until her death in 1956 at the age of 80, even to the extent of attending race meetings in a wheelchair due to the crippling effects of arthritis
.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
Helen Vernet died on the 30th March 1956 at her Eaton Place home http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/40753/pages/2236/page.pdf and while she did not die penniless, she did not die rich either. After all, she had a taste for the finer things in life and an abiding love to take chances which meant that as fast as she got money, she spent it – living life to her available means - if not occasionally above it.
While there are apparently no photographs of Helen Vernet in the public domain there is however a Punch
carton of her, drawn by George Belcher
, that dates from the mid-1930s.http://www.punchcartoons.com/images/M/1927.10.26.473.jpg and depicts her and an accompanying male clerk ready to do business on some unnamed racecourse – the caption reads:
"To see her standing on the rails - One woman in a world of males - Serene, as you hand your choice both ways - Far older than the odds she lays."
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
on a racecourse in accordance with the Betting Houses Act of 1853 and subsequent amendments.
Born Helen Monica Mabel Cunningham, at the age of 17 she married Spencer Thornton, a stockbroker by profession. Apparently, this was not a happy union from the outset as the marriage ended in annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
. As a result of a marriage annulment rather than a divorce, in accordance with Matrimonial Causes Act 1857
Matrimonial Causes Act 1857
The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act reformed the law on divorce, moving litigation from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to the civil courts, establishing a model of marriage based on contract rather than...
, both parties were free to marry again. Which Helen in due course did when she married yet another stockbroker, Robert Vernet.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
While little is known of Helen Vernet’s early life. It is claimed that her family descended from noble Scots ancestry, indeed the Cunningham
Clan Cunningham
Clan Cunningham is a Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, though recently two contenders for the chiefship have emerged...
name does have strong connections with Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx Reportedly, as a child she inherited some £8,000 following the death of her father. As a result, when she became of age and with capital of her own, she quickly developed a taste for gambling and a fondness to go racing as often as she could. Unfortunately, Helen Vernet was not yet a skilled enough operator of the kind she was later to become, gradually dissipating most of her inheritance in the process of her activities.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
In the days when Tote
The Tote
The Tote, formerly the Horserace Totalisator Board, is a British bookmaker with head offices in Wigan. It was owned from its formation in 1928 by the UK Government but was sold to Betfred in July 2011. Under the brand totesport the Tote has 514 high street betting shops, outlets on Britain's 60...
pool betting was not yet a feature on British racecourses and the rough and tumble of the betting ring was very much a male preserve and socially out of bounds to the opposite sex. Helen Vernet had noticed that many women who like her went racing, also liked to have a bet. The problem was that for those women in the Tattersalls enclosure and grandstand areas wanting to place a small wager the only available bookmakers were located along the rails. And, because entry to such areas on a racecourse was more expensive than to the general public enclosures, bookmakers along the Tattersalls rails were more inclined to accept larger bets. Indeed, when approached, they would often refuse to accept small stakes of less than a Pound in value.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
So, following the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918 and the recommencement of horserace meetings in Britain, she made it known that she was willing to take small bets from female acquaintances who like her, attended local race meetings throughout the English Home Counties
Home Counties
The home counties is a term which refers to the counties of South East England and the East of England which border London, but do not include the capital city itself...
. Unfortunately, as word got around and demand for her services visibly increased, her illegal and unlicensed activities soon came to the attention of the authorities – and she was duly “warned off”http://www.horse-races.net/library/review-041403.htm – being the procedure whereby a person of proven dubious character is banned from attending official racecourse meetings in Britain for a set period of time.
However, her activities had not gone unnoticed and she was soon recruited by bookmaker Arthur Bendir, who had been running the Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
bookmaking firm since 1902. Under the direction of Bendir, in 1913 Ladbrokes had established an office in the heart of London’s Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
with the intention of servicing the horserace betting needs of an elite client base drawn from the ranks of the British aristocracy and upper classes who frequented the nearby exclusive gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
s of White's
White's
White's is a London gentlemen's club, established at 4 Chesterfield Street in 1693 by Italian immigrant Francesco Bianco . Originally it was established to sell hot chocolate, a rare and expensive commodity at the time...
, Boodle's
Boodle's
Boodle's is a London gentlemen's club, founded in 1762, at 49-51 Pall Mall, London by Lord Shelburne the future Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the club came to be known after the name of its head waiter Edward Boodle....
, the Carlton
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...
, the Athenaeum
Athenaeum Club, London
The Athenaeum Club, usually just referred to as the Athenaeum, is a notable London club with its Clubhouse located at 107 Pall Mall, London, England, at the corner of Waterloo Place....
and the Royal Automobile Club
Royal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx It was thought that because of Helen Vernet's family social connections, she would be well-placed to discreetly attract upper-crust female racegoers of the time and then, by association, plenty of their equally well-heeled partners.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-az-of-betting-1144663.html
While prior to 1961, and the passing of the Gaming and Betting Act that allowed the introduction of off-course betting shops to the UK, all horserace betting on an up-front cash basis was restricted to racecourses only. However, betting on a previously agreed credit settlement basis between bookmaker and client was not. Indeed, in his 1985 autobiography "The Life and Secrets of a Professional Punter" Alex Bird, renowned British professional horserace punter of the post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
1940s and 50s, profiled both Ladbrokes and Mrs Verney (as he called her) as follows …
“In the late 1940s I did not think about opening an account with Ladbrokes. Their form was in a different league to the rest of the bookmaking world. They were not involved in the competitiveness of the ring. Their clients were mainly members of the aristocracy and without calling the odds, Ladbrokes representatives like Mrs Verney, a grey-haired dignified woman who looked about seventy if she was a day, were merely there to accept bets for very large amounts, without any fuss. Mrs Verney stood by the rails at Newmarket and no one would ever have guessed that in the hurly burly of the racetrack, she was taking bets. While other bookmakers shouted out their odds she hardly ever spoke.”
Under the guidance and tutelage of her mentor, Arthur Bendir, Helen Vernet was made a partner in the firm in 1928 and was paid a reputed £20,000 per year in salary and commission as Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
on-course rails representative.http://www.ladbrokesplc.com/about-ladbrokes/history.aspx While never one to hoard money, she enjoyed an elegant and comfortable lifestyle that afforded the Vernets the opportunity to eventually settle at 49 Eaton Place in London’s Belgravia
Belgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
and holiday regularly on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
where she liked to gamble at the casino tables. But nevertheless, she insisted on working almost until her death in 1956 at the age of 80, even to the extent of attending race meetings in a wheelchair due to the crippling effects of arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
.http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/index.html
Helen Vernet died on the 30th March 1956 at her Eaton Place home http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/40753/pages/2236/page.pdf and while she did not die penniless, she did not die rich either. After all, she had a taste for the finer things in life and an abiding love to take chances which meant that as fast as she got money, she spent it – living life to her available means - if not occasionally above it.
While there are apparently no photographs of Helen Vernet in the public domain there is however a Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
carton of her, drawn by George Belcher
George Belcher
George Frederick Arthur Belcher was an English cartoonist, etcher and painter of genre, sporting subjects and still life.He was born in London on 19 September 1875 and studied at the Gloucester School of Art. He drew for the Punch Almanac from 1906 and for Punch itself regularly from 1911; also for...
, that dates from the mid-1930s.http://www.punchcartoons.com/images/M/1927.10.26.473.jpg and depicts her and an accompanying male clerk ready to do business on some unnamed racecourse – the caption reads:
"To see her standing on the rails - One woman in a world of males - Serene, as you hand your choice both ways - Far older than the odds she lays."
Further reading
- Bird, Alex. "The Life and Secrets of a Professional Punter" London: Queen Anne Press, MacDonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd, 1985. ISBN 0-356-10589-X
- Huggins, Mike. "Horseracing and the British, 1919-39" Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-719-06529-1
- Ramsden, Caroline. "Ladies in Racing - Sixteenth Century to the Present Day" London: Stanley Paul, 1973. ISBN 0-092-16990-9
- Kaye, Richard. "The Ladbrokes Story" London: Pelham Books, 1969. ISBN 0-720-70310-7
- Magee, Sean. "Ascot - The History" London: Methuen Publishing Ltd (United Kingdom), 2002. ISBN 0-413-77203-9
External links
- Legal interpretation (circa 1913) of the Betting Houses Act of 1853
- BBC announcement on the introduction of the Betting and Gaming Act of 1961
- The Ladbrokes Story
- Daily Telegraph newspaper article on the history of Royal Ascot
- Book review of "Ascot - The History" by Sean Magee
- Independent newspaper feature - V is for Vernet, Helen
- Notice in London Gazette relating to possible claims on the estate of Vernet, Helen Monica Mabel (Deceased)
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Entry for Helen Vernet
- Punch carton of Helen Vernet