REMEMBER WHEN: LIFE AND TIMES OF LEGENDARY LEN

It was 31 years ago that I was invited to Len and Ida Franklin’s home in Caister to conduct an interview from which the following article was produced. It remain in my top five favourite articles that I have ever written. It was included in the 1992 Daily Mirror Greyhound Factfile and has been been re-printed at least once in the Star newspaper. So while I ask for forgiveness for those with fabulous memories – I wrote the damn thing and had completely forgotten big chunks of it. Some of the thoughts – particularly in the final few paragraphs – have been overtaken by events. But that isn’t the reason for rekindling this particular piece. As we approach the start of Yarmouth’s major event, the Bresbet East Anglian Derby, I was, and remain, fascinated by professional gamblers and in that respect, Len Franklin was premier league. For those who haven’t read the piece before, hopefully you are in for a treat. For the rest, forgive me this small indulgence. – Floyd Amphlett (Editor).

 

The dream of being a professional punter has come to most of us after a couple of winning meetings. It usually evaporates next time out as the wad dwindles and you realise you couldn’t pick the winner of a solo trial.

For Len Franklin this moment of illusion never came. In a ten-year career as a professional punter in pre-war London, he not only won, he made himself a small fortune. He was later to use the same shrewd judgement to build a brand new greyhound track at Yarmouth and then invest in it, when all around him were keeping a tight fist on their cash.

Born in 1910, Len Franklin went into his father’s business as a shop fitter when he left school. The family lived in Stoke Newington at a time when London was teeming with greyhound stadia, still a relatively new phenomenon. It was in 1928 that a friend — Jim Verrill — suggested that Len went with him to Clapton dogs.

Len said: “I went along and enjoyed myself. In fact there were three of us going regularly — me, Jim and Ernie Whedon who I later went into partnership with at Yarmouth. Jim was always a pretty good judge and would often take £1 with him and come home with £30 in his pocket. (Equiv in 2022 of £2,028)

“I seemed to be picking as many winners as he was and also started to win. I always a few bob in my pocket and soon decided I should be betting in bigger stakes. Instead of betting in shillings I multiplied my stake by 20 and bet the equivalent in pounds.”

In the early 1930s even £1 was a sizeable chunk out of the average wage packet and Len decided that to stay in the game he would need to be completely professional in his dealings. He selected Clapton and Harringay as his two business premises and he never missed a race or trial session at either.

He later dropped Clapton and added Stamford Bridge and White City. He was racing 11 times a week including afternoon meetings plus all the trial sessions.

But the move soon began to pay off. After a sticky spell at Clapton, the winners be to flow at the other tracks. Len was betting up to £1,000 per meeting and was averaging winnings of between £200 and £300 per meeting (Equiv £13,500-£20,000 today).

He said: “Things started to get much more difficult at Clapton. Firstly, there definitely some doping at the Clapton kennels. It happened more than once and it became difficult to follow form. Secondly, they took out the hare and replaced it with a new McGee that passed between traps three and four at the start.

“I was convinced that the new hare would play havoc with the form. Besides, I was great fan of GRA racing. All the dogs were kennelled at Northaw and they were very consistent in their running. This was particularly true at Harringay where there were very few opens but it was a good track for the dogs to race on.

“At most tracks the wide runners tend to cut across at the bends. At Harringay they stayed wide making it a lot easier to predict which dogs would get clear. It was also useful at these tracks when they ran intertracks. We knew the form of the other dogs so well that we picked many a winner that way.”

Jim Verrill then sought new pastures and seemed to strike gold with a successful but less than totally genuine trainer at Catford. To begin with Verrill tipped many winners and was making good money. But the bookmakers soon realised the kennel tie-up and the odds were rapidly shortened on those runners.

The trainer, without telling Verrill, started to use him as a decoy and would duly win with his other dog in the race. Verrill’s judgement naturally began to be affected and his fortune soon returned from whence it came.

Franklin, on the other hand, was going from strength to strength. Equipped with a personalised mackintosh, complete with a poachers pocket for his backlog of racecards and a purpose-made waistcoat with large inside pocket, he was pursued by tic-tac men everything whenever he had a bet.

He said: “I would usually have about £20 on a dog if I didn’t particularly fancy. If I was confident I’d go up to £500. Much would depend on the price and also the tote if I wanted to have a saver forecast.

“I normally had somebody helping me and would send them to the tote. If I wanted to have a bet I would make my way to the bookies. Because I was betting in such big amounts. I was careful about how I put my bet on. Obviously I had certain preferences and I would not place my bet when other people could hear me.

“I would discuss other matters before speaking quietly to the bookmaker at the back of his stand. That way, it gave him time to adjust his book accordingly and if I wanted another bet I would not have lost my price with the other bookmakers.”

Len remembers other punters making their living at the game, though many naturally failed.

So how successful was he and why was he so successful?

He said: “I don’t know how much I won in all. Although I had my losing nights, there weren’t many of them. I remember regularly putting money in the bank, I can’t recall ever having to take any out.

“Certain times of the year seemed better than others. It was a lot easier in the spring than the summer, for example. I am not sure why that was. It may have been something to do with the extra racing and faster going in the summer.

“I remember that the most money I ever won in one meeting was £1,170. (equiv to £79K) On another occasion I had a £5-9 shilling forecast, 55 times and I also remember holding a quarter of all the winning tote tickets in a race at Clapton. I was once walking back to our house near the Crooked Billet track, now Walthamstow, and I had two £1,000 notes in my pocket. In those days the houses were selling for £350.

“I think the most important rule in betting is trusting your own judgement. I would listen to Jimmy and Ernie arguing after a race and they often saw things that I had missed. Having said that, the decision rests with yourself and if you are going to listen to other people, make sure they are good judges.

“The other important factor is to watch the race closely. When I first studied races everything seemed to be happening too fast. Gradually you begin to see more and it becomes slow motion. The most important part of any race is the first bend.

“If you know your dogs, you are able to guess what each of them will do in a certain situation. Just because a dog is a wide runner doesn’t mean it won’t cut across at the bend. Other dogs can’t perform if they get led up and others tend to check in or out from the traps or at the bends.

“It’s in that particular area that it is so useful to see dogs trialling. Greyhounds incredibly consistent. Give most dogs a solo trial on similar going and they will consistently record times to within 10 spots.

“If you try to get £10,000 on a dog at the small track you might get some 3-1 and finish up at odds on. You might then average even money. If you try on a bigger track you won’t affect the market so much and could average 2-1. Obviously that must be the better value bet.

“When I was gambling for a living my prime concern was to know 10 per cent more than the regular punter. With those sort of odds I stood a chance of getting better value for my money. I would work out what was particularly worth backing according to its starting price.

“That is why it is so important to view all races carefully. If I had a small bet in a race where I didn’t particularly fancy anything, it would guarantee that I would watch the race intently. If my selection was lucky I would gain both ways. If it got beat I would see why. Either way I was storing knowledge for the future.

“I can recall a case when I had a dog in a race and the trainer told me the dog ought to win. I fancied his other dog and told him so. Both dogs were fit and well and the other dog duly obliged. As long as both dogs were well I was confident in trusting my own judgement.

“Not all the trainers were so conscientious. I can recall seeing many trainers spending the entire evening in the bar. Providing they were running the dogs honestly, they wouldn’t have had much idea what chances their dogs stood.

“I didn’t particularly use a system for gambling and if I was well in usually decrease the amount I was having on in each race.”

Considering that all this occurred over 50 years ago, Len Franklin has a truly memory. He instantly recalls some of the great pre-war champions, the breeding and notable achievements. Which would be the fastest grevhounds he has ever seen?

He said: “That would unquestionably be Ataxy, a big fawn dog. He was unbeatable at White City and West Ham and they were the best two tests of any greyhound. Before he came along the best I’d seen was his sire, Inler. He used to run so wide at the bends that he was galloping on the hare rail covering. He could win after giving around 15 lengths away.”

At this stage Franklin was investing much of his money in stocks and shares. During a chat with a stockbroker friend, Len was asked if he was interested in putting money into building a greyhound track at Yarmouth.

Len said: “I knew the area as I’d been on holiday there as a boy. Also my father liked to follow the horses and I’d been to the racecourse. I considered the matter carefully and thought that any town with a resident betting community from a racecourse, would probably find customers for a greyhound track.

“We bought the existing site which is where the airfield now stands. There was basically only a track in the middle of a field. There were now buildings whatsoever. We then arranged to lease the front field, directly adjacent to the main road and much better for access.

“We applied for planning permission to build on the new site and were turned down at the hearing. We then appealed to the Ministry who eventually overturned the original decision. We started work in 1939 and were ready to open in the spring of 1940. The date was May 11 and what a day that turned out to be.

“The Germans invaded the Low Countries on the day we opened. Yarmouth was evacuated and our potential market was reduced form 51,000 to 17,000 at a stroke. I can remember a big explosion as I stood out on the track on the afternoon of our first meeting.

“The civil defence had decided that they must prepare for a German invasion so they blew the centre section out of the pier. It would have been much easier to cut out a section but they decided to do it with explosives. Worse still, they had left the end section virtually untouched. I can remember seeing cash registers and furniture floating in the sea.

“We managed to keep going at one meeting a week until we all got called up. I was drafted into the airforce and was posted to Melksham near Bath as an instrument repairer. Our racing manager was an Italian by birth but naturalised. He went back to live in London. At that time he wouldn’t have been allowed to live near the coast.”

The stadium was taken over by the fire service for the remainder of the war and didn’t open up again until 1946. The stadium was then owned by Len Franklin, Ernie Whedon and Clifford Yaxley. The post-war crowds were good and Yarmouth even boasted a restaurant with a dumb waiter leading to the kitchens underneath the main stand.

From being a high living professional gambler Len Franklin was now a jack of all trades with a number of inglorious tasks to his name.

He was eventually saddled with the job as trainer in the stadium kennels assisted by Charlie Ashley and a young kennel lad named Dick Keable. When Ernie Whedon decided to sell up his share and buy Ipswich Stadium, Len put on yet another hat, that of racing manager.

Most cards would be graded as Franklin supervised the running of the stadium kennels where up to 80 dogs were kept in training. Because of its isolated position, greyhound track. Len Franklin was always open to a greyhound shortage. As a result he made regular visits to the Irish sales to buy runners for the tracks.

Around one-quarter of the dogs in the stadium kennels were owned by the track though they were always for sale at whatever price they had been bought for. Of course there was the problem of who would grade the card while Len was away.

He said: “I arranged a system where every dog had its own number according to times. When there were non-runners, Yaxley would look at the list and pick a reserve with a number very similar to the previous meetings results advanced card.”

Yaxley died suddenly leaving Len Franklin and his family to chart the future of the stadium. The track raced as an independent with all dogs running under their stud book names. The open racers continued to run under aliases, though the track’s decision to record all earmarks resulted in the recovery of several stolen dogs.

In 1975 Yarmouth became one of the early pioneers to adopt permit racing. It was yet another shrewd move by Franklin. He had ploughed back profits and built one of the finest provincial stadiums in the country. In 1987 Yarmouth stadium became the first permit track to register a £1,000,000 tote turnover.

1998 was the 50th anniversary of Len Franklin’s introduction to greyhound racing. As one of the most experienced promoters/owners/punters/racing

managers/trainers in the game, how does he view the future?

He said: “I feel very strongly that the sport must come to grips with the big bookmakers and satellite racing. If we are not careful, they will ruin the sport as a spectacle within five years.

“It is quite obvious to me that they want to turn the game into a glorified Bingo and a better betting shops will become gambling halls where punters just have to pick out two numbers. The good dogs will have no place and the same dogs will just race against each other.

“I don’t think that bookmakers should ever have been allowed to own greyhound tracks, it is against the public interest. Having said that, Corals are to be commended in what they have done with Brighton and Romford.

“I was interested to see in Ireland that they are proposing the greyhound industry should receive a levy from satellite racing the same as horse racing. That must be the best solution and one we ought to look at. Let’s not forget just how much money the bookmakers take out of the game.

“We get excited that a couple of the large stadiums are taking over £1,000,000 annually on the tote. Had betting shops not been legalised those figures would be £200,000,000. There is an equal argument to be levelled at track bookmakers. The amount they have to pay by law at the moment is ridiculous.

“If I was to build a shopping centre worth £1,000,000 and was sub-letting five shops within in, I would want at least £200,000 for each shop. Just look at the multi-million pound stadium and work out how much each bookmaker is paying to conduct business within that stadium.

“I was at Peterborough recently and was most impressed by the new stand. Of all the gambling carried out in that stadium, the bookmakers will have the lion’s share. They ought to be paying a large percentage of the cost. If the business expands, aren’t they the ones who will benefit most?

“If greyhound racing keeps pushing, I think we can get better returns. It took 20 years of pressure for on-course duty to be scrapped and if we keep trying, I see no reason why the same thing couldn’t happen for a levy.”

After a lifetime of caning the bookies, Len Franklin is still hopeful of the pay-out in the history of the sport. Bearing in mind his not unsuccessful track career, who would you put your money on?