'Britain's best known bookie' who rose to fame on Channel 4's The Morning Line dies

A legendary racecourse bookmaker who became familiar to millions of TV viewers on Racing has died.

Barry Dennis, who was 83, operated several pitches at tracks across the South East of England for nearly 60 years. But he rose to fame when he was invited by Channel 4 Racing to pick a horse that would lose, a lay of the day which he expected to be sunk. The feature became known as ‘Barry’s Bismarck’, named after the German battleship.

His banter with the late John McCririck, the betting ring pundit for Channel 4, became a popular feature of the coverage. John Francome, the former champion jump jockey who worked alongside the pair, told Racing: “Barry was always good company and made for good television. He was a proper character.”

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Dennis, who was from Essex, was a noisy presence in the betting ring, explaining in a 2018 interview with StarSportsBet, “I wanted to be the top johnny, I wanted everyone to come to me, so I thought I would make a lot of noise.

“I was a street trader in my early days, nine, ten and 11, and you had to make yourself vocal so that’s what I wanted to do on the racecourse.”

He had no time for small-staking punters and once posted a notice on his pitch at which said, “No women”. He was told to take it down when racecourse officials found out.

Broadcaster Tanya Stevenson, who worked alongside McCririck for Channel 4, said: “It’s very sad because I knew Barry going back to the days when he stood up at Romford , long before I worked for Channel 4.

“I clerked for a bookmaker and Barry was there as well. He was such a lovely, friendly, loud and proud Essex man. He was the heart and soul of the betting ring.

“Many years down the line we met again under different circumstances and he became Mac’s great sparring partner. The pair of them were amazing in their many spats, which were harmless and endearing.

“It was all for the good of the sport as it drew the audience in because they could take sides. Barry made his statement with the Bismarck and he stuck with it, whether you agreed or not.

“It also shone a light into the charisma of the on-course market then because he was one of its leading characters. If you were watching you actually felt you were there in the ring.

“He was one of the most amazing characters of his time in racing. There was no grey area with Barry, and we loved him for it.”