| Kerry Packer was, without doubt, the biggest punter in | | | | million. |
| Australian racing history. He started betting on the | | | | In the late 70âs, âThe Big |
| horses as a boy, and retained his love of punting at the | | | | Manâ, as he was known in racing circles, |
| racecourse until the end of his life. Overseas, Kerry | | | | would descend on a race course with a number of |
| Packer loved to play the casino tables, but in Australia | | | | âgofersâ and a larger number of |
| the Casinos werenât big enough to handle his | | | | hangers-on, all running around trying to overhear his |
| stakes and his biggest punts were reserved for the | | | | instructions. When Packer gave the word, the gofers |
| racetrack. | | | | would run to the bookies - trying to place the bets |
| As Packerâs wealth increased over the | | | | simultaneously, because Packerâs bets were |
| years, so did his bets. The Costigan Commission report | | | | so large that they would immediately make a horse |
| included the fact that Packer had paid $4 million to a | | | | unbackable, as the odds dropped steeply as the |
| bookie during an 18-month period in 1980-81, and had | | | | bookies attempted to balance their books. |
| only received back $1.2 million - a loss of nearly $3 | | | | |