Lord George Bentinck lived during the mid 1800s. He owned horses which ran in the numerous horse races like the 1836 St. Leger race. He is considered a punter and gambler. He is also known as a great reformer of horse races due to his innovation. What perhaps stands out about Lord George more is his invention rather than any bets or races his horses might have won. He definitely provided a long shot on the day of the St. Leger race.
For some unknown reason his horse called Elis was still in Goodwood rather than being walked to the race. Given the year, cars were not invented. It also meant that horses were transported by walking, not riding. There was nothing devised or perhaps even thought about regarding the transporting of horses. It was assumed that the race horse would be walked while those running the horse and owners of the horse would be riding in a carriage or along on another horse.
It meant that for a horse still in Goodwood and not near the track in St Leger, the odds were significantly against it and thus against Lord George. There was not a thought in anyone’s mind, most likely, that this man would get his horse to race day with no problems. The horse made it to the 1836 St. Leger Doncaster race though. Lord George created a horse transporter. Perhaps if bookies had known this they would have given him better odds and made a bit more from the races. Certainly, those who didn’t bet on a long shot lost out on the sports bet of the century.
Lord George not only got his horse to the race via the first horse transporter, which was a great business start for him, but his horse also won the race. Lord George bet on his own horse, providing himself with a wonderful reward in addition to owning the winning horse.
This is the most notable gamble of Lord George. He gambled with sports bets on other races given that he was considered a punter; however, nothing was as amazing as the first horse carriage and holding the winning horse after being considered a long shot to even arrive let alone race well.
In terms of the most famous gamblers of history Lord George is certainly in the top of the list for sheer innovation. Others might have won thousands of pounds at poker, sports betting or mainstream gambles, but Lord George came up from the back of the pack in terms of horse arrival driving a new concept for horse racing. The couple of thousand pounds made from the race that day has to be minimal compared to the patent he would have on the first horse transporter.
Bentinck was a politician, known for getting Sir Robert Peel out of his seat due to the Corn Laws. He was also the last son to be born to the 4th Duke of Portland, making him an important man of his time even before the horse transporter.