Betting Shop Manager of the Year: introducing the finalists

After seven months of competition we have reached the climax of the 2018 Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year.

On Monday at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel, one of the eight finalists will be crowned overall champion.

The judging panel, chaired by Brough Scott and including Nigel Boardman and Helen Scott of SIS, industry expert Jim Cremin, BHA chief executive Nick Rust, Richard Hayler of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, broadcaster Tanya Stevenson and myself, concluded its deliberations last night after the eight managers, along with a member of their staff, were grilled for one last time.

It was a difficult decision choosing an overall winner, but each manager will receive a commemorative Racing Post front page as regional champion.

The successful manager, as well as receiving the prestigious title, will win a VIP trip to one of Singapore’s major meetings next year, courtesy of the Singapore Turf Club. This year’s special guest is former Arsenal and England footballer Ray Parlour.

Monday is the culmination of a journey that began in the spring with the major companies nominating their best managers from each of the eight regions.

At the same time, independent managers from across Britain and Ireland were encouraged to enter the competition.

These managers answered a question paper before the judges selected the 48 who were then subjected to a mystery shopper visit, which further narrowed the list.

We then invited 23 managers to spend a day at the races with the judges at Doncaster last month.

Now we’ve reached the final eight and on below each manager has written a profile of themselves, explaining their careers and how they relax away from their jobs.

AINSLEY BOWSTEAD

Midlands & Wales

My first job after leaving school was the same as many young people – behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant. Seeking an escape, I asked my best friend for an application to his place of work, a bookies called Coral.

What was intended as a short-term job turned into a career in the most exhilarating industry I could possibly imagine.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending six years at Coral, and a further five years working for Paddy Power. During that time I’ve witnessed many changes to my profession, evolving the business into the bright, open, expansive and creative industry that we see today. My fondest memories are of the people I’ve shared this time with, both colleagues and customers, who have made every day vibrant, unique and full of character.

I’ve always had a keen interest in sport, which is especially useful considering my job! Cricket is undoubtedly my first love in this regard, my father passing on his passion for the game onto me, and Edgbaston has become like a second home.

A particular highlight is when my friends and I make our annual trip to T20 Finals Day, although I’ve spent many a time losing my voice cheering on the Bears in the Hollies Stand!

Ainsley Bowstead: Paddy Power Betfair manager from LoughbroughCredit: Ichiro Terashima

While I’ve been fortunate in the career I’ve had, I’ve been even more privileged with regards to my family. I’m actually part of a bookies’ generation at home, as both my brother and sister-in-law are managers too!

My parents have always been incredibly supportive of everything I’ve done, and I credit the man I am today to them. The work ethic instilled in me by them has given me the drive to achieve everything I have.

I’ve relished being able to create a successful business, but I have drive because of my family. My partner Samantha and my children, Bethany and James, make me proud every single day, and as much as all my professional accolades have meant to me, being called Dad was always my greatest single achievement.

DAVID MONK

Anglia & South-east

I left school and secured a job in accountancy working 40 hours a week at 15 – I certainly missed my school holidays. The financial industry was not for me but the gambling industry certainly is. I could still use my head for figures, but I now enjoy the connection we have with our customers.

At Betfred I’ve been given some great opportunities, managing a shop after two years which I then ran successfully for three years. I was then asked to run a brand new store and five years later we continue to show growth year on year. Now as GSM I get to look deeper into the business, which gives me other avenues to positively impact the business.

Being at Betfred I’ve also been able to work on course and a highlight was being there to watch Saxon Warrior win the 2,000 Guineas. Every year I manage the betting shop at the Banger and Hot Rod world finals which has been great fun and a really different experience to being in my regular shop.

David Monk: Betfred manager from IpswichCredit: Ichiro Terashima

My love of horseracing started when I was around eight years old. I was very close to my nanna, who loved racing, and I’d often go to see Nanna Monk and watch the horses she’d backed on a Saturday. My dad and uncle are also big racing fans and with me and my brother we have all enjoyed plenty of days out to various racecourses. My best day’s racing, though, was with some friends at the 2,000 Guineas in 2012. I strongly fancied two horses and netted myself more than £1,000 – I’ve had worse days!

I enjoy watching darts – last year I saw Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen at an exhibition in Ipswich and will be meeting my favourite player, Phil Taylor, next month.

When I’m not working I’m looking after my two-year-old princess Emily. I try to look after my wife too – I don’t know which one’s harder to please! Other than getting married, my bravest moment was skydiving and I look forward to doing a solo skydive in the near future.

KEVIN GRAY

North-west & Isle of Man

After college my first job was an accounts clerk for nine months at Pin Croft Printing and Dyeing.

Being very good with numbers I got my first opportunity to work in the betting industry as a Saturday cashier with Paul Dean's Turf Accountant in the winter of 1986. During this period they ran a settlers course at night for people interested in making a career in the industry. I was taken on as a trainee manager during Grand National week 1987.

I spent 20 years with the company, eventually becoming area supervisor for 15 shops until the company was sold to Coral.

I started at Coral as the manager at the Preston branch on the edge of the town centre. It give me an understanding of how a large company operated under a rigid procedural format. Unfortunately due to its dated decor and location the shop was closed in 2014 and I decided to take redundancy.

I then started as a part-time cashier with Betsid due to family commitments, becoming a manager again two years ago.

Away from work I met my South African wife while on holiday in Egypt on a Nile cruise.

Kevin Gray: Betsid manager from ChorleyCredit: Ichiro Terashima

In my spare time I’ve been a speedway fan all my life, going to thousands of meetings over the years. I own more than 70,000 speedway programmes – the largest collection in Britain.

I am a co-author of a book called History of British League Speedway Programmes published along with Peter Collins MBE, who was world speedway champion 1976.

I’ve met many Lancashire cricketers including Neil Fairbrother and Graham Lloyd.

Nobby Styles was one of my customers while I was the manager at the Old Trafford shop.

I’m a keen gardener, growing lots of organic fruit and vegetables. I volunteer for Adlington in Bloom gardening club, looking after the local community gardens.

I enjoy traveling and have been to 21 countries across six continents. I also enjoy reading fantasy books – my favourite book is The Hobbit and my favourite author is the late Terry Pratchett.

MICHAEL STRAIN

Scotland

Aged 15 I secured my first part-time job as a paper boy. After two days I decided the early rise wasn’t worth it. I then started as a shelf-stacker in a local supermarket. This didn’t last too long either – after one shift I called it a day.

I left school at 17 and began an Applied Bioscience and Biotechnology degree at the University of the West of Scotland.

While studying I applied for a job as a 16-hour-a-week cashier at Ladbrokes as a way to support my studies. However, it turned out it was actually a way to support the profits of the local nightclubs! Three years later I left university and started a six-month post at Organon Pharmaceuticals and kept on my role at Ladbrokes where I had progressed to customer service manager.

In 2011 I took a six-month break from Ladbrokes to move to Oxford for a job with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, but three weeks later I decided it was time to return to betting shops where I could have a career in an industry I loved working in.

In 2012 I won Ladbrokes Customer Service Manager of the Year alongside my sister who had won Cashier of the Year. The following year I progressed to marketplace manager and this is the role I’ve held since.

Michael Strain: Ladbrokes manager from GlasgowCredit: Ichiro Terashima

My passion outside of work is playing golf. I’ve won three club championships at three different clubs, and my handicap is five. I also love attending racing at my local track Hamilton Park.

I support the Choose Life suicide prevention charity and alongside three of my customers we play in a charity golf day each year. We’ve never won it, so I’m now looking for a new team.

In 2017 I had the pleasure of meeting Celtic legend Frank McAvennie at the Ladbrokes Coral Scotland awards ceremony. Getting caught up in the moment I asked him for a selfie, forgetting we were both standing at the urinal in the gents. He asked politely if I could wait until we had both finished.

AMRAN UL-HAQUE

Greater London

I started my employment with Coral in September 1998 at our Custom House branch as a trainee deputy manager. Within a year and a half I was managing my own shop in Custom House, then on to Bethnal Green. I was on

the move again and went to a high-profile shop in Holborn. It was the first time I had experienced working in a shop without bandit screens.

Within a year of being in Holborn, I became a district manager in the Dagenham and Romford area looking after 15 shops. After Coral were bought out by Gala I was offered the area manager role in the south-east, namely Woolwich, Bromley and Orpington.

I stepped down from that role for personal reasons and became manager of the Coral shop in Canary Wharf in July 2005. This was a shop that I always wanted to work in due to its sheer size of business together with the massive footfall it generated. It was the best and biggest shop Coral had. I had stints in our Bishopsgate branch in Liverpool Street and was also given the opportunity to open up our Westfield branch in Stratford before the Olympics.

Amran Ul-Haque: Coral manager from Canary Wharf in LondonCredit: Ichiro Terashima

I left Coral in August 2015 after a near 17-year stint to pursue a new challenge abroad in the Middle East. I was offered a job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a store manager of the fashion retailer H&M in their flagship store in Kingdom Centre (equivalent to our Canary Wharf building). I came back after a year and a half due to family reasons and landed back with Ladbrokes Coral in Canary Wharf again.

I’ve been married to Aisha for 20 years and we have three daughters, Amber, Zara and Zoya. Amber and Zara are passionate about horses and own one too.

My spare time is spent with my family, who I value dearly. This also means helping out with the girl’s horse at times.

I’m a passionate Liverpool supporter but love football as a whole. I’ve met Anthony Joshua in our shop before he became world heavyweight champion. I’ve also met some football stars past and present such as Andy Carroll, Sir Trevor Brooking, Peter Shilton and Alan Brazil. I used to play football with John Terry and went to school with Idris Elba.

SASCHA DRAPE

North-east

As I joined the betting industry at 18 I haven’t had many other jobs. I used to be a ‘pot lass’ in my local social club, which I loved. The atmosphere was similar to betting shops in that the racing was always on and the old boys would be sat clutching their pint and betting slips. I guess this is where I learned about face-to-face customer service – having banter with the regulars really prepared me for the role I’m in now.

I’ve loved horses ever since I can remember. When I was younger I volunteered at my local stables and it was the best part of my week.

I learned how to ride, tack up, groom and muck out. The BBC created a children’s series called The Stables which was on CBBC every day after school and I got to be part of that too. All of this led me to compete in showjumping events and gymkhanas.

I loved horses so much that at 16 my mam agreed I could finally have one of my own. He was a skewbald colt and I loved him to bits, even though he was a bit of a handful at times. I was sorry to let him go, but studying and work took up too much of my time. My dream is to own some stables one day.

Sascha Drape: Coral manager from JesmondCredit: Ichiro Terashima

I started working for Ladbrokes just after my 18th birthday. My mam had worked for the company for around ten years and she would always tell me how much she loved it. At14 she taught me how to settle simple bets.

The job seemed like the perfect stepping stone for me while I was studying. I was hooked from my first Grand National and Cheltenham. The atmosphere and buzz that filled the shops was electric, so I never left. After eight years working as a customer service manager at Ladbrokes I was offered my own shop.

Coral Jesmond was a poor-performing shop and was on the closure list when I took over. After around two weeks, myself and the girls got our heads together and created a plan to get us back on track and I’m pleased to say we are now thriving and a huge part of the Jesmond community.

We’ve only been together a year and in that time we’ve created lasting relationships with each other and our customers. The service and standards we give are superb, which is why we’ve also been nominated for shop team of the year. I’m so proud of our little team and the hard work they put in every day; it’s this work ethic that makes me certain that our shop will continue to grow.

LORRAINE ARCHIBALD

Ireland

I was born and bred in a town called Newtownards, which lies at the tip of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. I am one of four siblings and have been married to my husband Stuart for 19 years. We have one son called Jack (ten), and two dogs and two cats. I’ve always been a huge animal lover and when I was younger I had a real passion for horse riding.

When I was 16 my family relocated to a town called Westport in County Mayo. We lived on a farm and it was here I discovered a love/hate relationship for a pony called Brownie. I loved him, but unfortunately he hated me, though that fact never dampened my spirits. The first time I sat on him he took off across a field, threw me off and then proceeded to gallop at speed over the top of me.

You think I’d have learned my lesson but I refused to face defeat. I then decided to hack him down a lane by our house and as I waved goodbye to my mother it was mid-afternoon. By the time I returned it was pitch black and my mother was out of her mind with worry. Brownie had decided he didn’t want to turn around and head home, so I had to follow the lane for hours until it met the road back to town. Needless to say that was the end of our brief but memorable friendship.

Lorraine Archibald: Ladbrokes manager from NewtownardsCredit: Ichiro Terashima

Returning to Newtownards at 18 I began training as a chef and also met my husband-to-be. The catering industry was not for me, so I moved to work for a fast food chain. It was here I initially developed my cash handling and customer service skills. Still not content, I decided to take a risk and applied for a job with a family-run bookmakers called Eastwoods.

I knew nothing about gambling and by the end of my first week I thought I’d made a huge mistake. It was like I’d landed on another planet where people spoke another language. I’ve never felt so out of my comfort zone. I recall my manager laughing when I asked if double lap meant the horse ran around the course twice.

Thankfully I persisted as 18 years later, now a marketplace manager with Ladbrokes, I can’t imagine working in any other industry.

BEN SHALDON

South-west & Channel Islands

I grew up the second of four children and as soon as I was able to work, I did. Spells in a warehouse and corner shop, as well as the job with the tax office that I didn’t get – HMRC’s loss! – preceded my joining William Hill at 19.

Working in betting shops around the south-west, getting involved in training, staff councils and racecourses has given me insight into most areas of the business. I also take a keen interest in the industry as a whole, even reading the House of Commons briefing papers on FOBTs this year.

In my spare time I have dipped my toe into the music industry and once met and worked with the American rapper Ice T.

Ben Shaldon: William Hill manager from ExeterCredit: Ichiro Terashima

I've travelled fairly extensively visiting destinations from Menorca to Manaus where I enjoyed myself a little too much and woke up the next day on the edge of the rainforest.

Looking after both my parents in their old age in the last few years gave me an insight into the worlds of care and dementia, but it was a rewarding experience that will remain with me.

When I’m not working I enjoy racing and betting recreationally as well as spending time with my nieces and nephews who range in ages from six to 15.

My good-luck charm throughout this competition has been my friend’s tiny Jack Russell dog and we spend hours walking the beaches around the Devon coast on days off.

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