There is no doubt that I was born to gamble and while barely a teenager I would willingly part with some of my hard earned pocket money for a crack at the weekends Place Accumulator, while in my high school years I recall running a book for the US Election between Dukakis and Bush senior, making myself a few rand either way. {readmorelink}Read more{/readmorelink}

Interestingly while none of my parents are gamblers (although my Mom certainly has the tendencies) there is plenty of it in my extended family so the odds of it surfacing in my generation were always good.

My grandfather Robert Powell was perhaps the biggest influence and he would keep me amused for hours with tales of some of the betting strikes he took on the horses in his youth. He was perhaps a generation too far along to get involved in sports betting although he followed my progress with interest ahead of his passing a couple of years ago.

Sadly one of the other great punters of the family, my Uncle Peter left us last week and while I never saw him a lot as he lived in Cape Town and I in Joburg I will miss his massive presence at those all too rare family gatherings and that annual phone call on the morning of the Durban July to tip me that elusive 100/1 winner.

Uncle Peter it is fair to say sometimes lived his life close to the edge but at the same time there are few who would have enjoyed such an exciting ride and no matter how gloomy things sometimes looked he somehow managed to land on his feet, usually better off for the journey.

My Dad often speaks about his older brother’s incredible sporting ability and from the stories I have heard he was no doubt someone who could have made a killing in the modern professional era.

What I will remember most though is his love of a punt which up until a couple of years ago was confined to the horses and I believe the occasional assault on the casino.

A couple of years back though he joined us on our annual family holiday which happened to coincide with the Springboks group game against England in the 2007 World Cup in France.

Now there is nothing better than finding a fellow punter to chat sport with and it wasn’t long before I had Uncle Peter reaching into his wallet as we both stuck R100 on Fourie du Preez to score the first try of the match at odds of 20/1.

The game started at a frantic pace and we leapt from our chairs as Fourie du Preez broke early and headed for the line, only to be ankle tapped by the English in a last ditch but successful attempt to prevent a try. Juan Smith did the business a short while later and we had lost our bet but I could see from the glint in my Uncle’s eye that the sports betting bug had bitten.

For the next few weeks I would get regular phone calls asking me the odds on various rugby and cricket matches but not being part of the internet era he gradually drifted back towards horses and I would on occasion get a call out of the blue telling me to have a go at a long shot from one of the Cape yards.

Given the lasting impression that my Uncle made on me in the limited opportunities we got to see each other over the last 10 years I can only imagine how hard his passing is on his family and friends in Cape Town and his 3 younger brothers who I know will be telling stories about “Peter the Athlete” and “Peter the Punter” to their grandkids for many years to come. 

Go well Uncle Peter, may you rest in peace and I hope that where you are now the Sunday Times carrying the weekends racing results arrives on a Saturday morning.

We will miss you and in the words of one of your daughters Jo-Anne, you will always be "a legend as a father, friend and a punter"