Helen Vernet

Who was Helen Vernet?

Helen Vernet was the first woman in the history of horseracing in Great Britain to be granted a license that permitted a person “of fit and proper character” to legally carry out business as a bookmaker on a racecourse in accordance with the Betting Houses Act of 1853 and subsequent amendments.

Born Helen Monica Mabel Cunningham, at the age of 17 she married Spencer Thornton, a stockbroker by profession. Apparently, this was not a happy union from the outset as the marriage ended in annulment. As a result of a marriage annulment rather than a divorce, in accordance with Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, both parties were free to marry again. Which Helen in due course did when she married yet another stockbroker, Robert Vernet.

While little is known of Helen Vernet’s early life. It is claimed that her family descended from noble Scots ancestry, indeed the Cunningham name does have strong connections with Scotland. Reportedly, as a child she inherited some £8,000 following the death of her father. As a result, when she became of age and with capital of her own, she quickly developed a taste for gambling and a fondness to go racing as often as she could. Unfortunately, Helen Vernet was not yet a skilled enough operator of the kind she was later to become, gradually dissipating most of her inheritance in the process of her activities.