THIS is the bankrupt gambler who helped to bring down the biggest home builder in NSW, and in so doing, inflicted financial misery on thousands of innocent people.

Mark Peters, 43, was a pest controller sub-contracted to Beechwood Homes when he convinced its owner, Larry King, to go into partnership with him and buy a string of thoroughbred racehorses.

No doubt they were thinking big. With King's money and Peters's know-how, they might have dreamt of an operation like the giant Woodlands Stud, built from scratch by the chicken kings Jack and Bob Ingham and sold in March for more than $460 million to the ruler of Dubai.

But three years later any dreams they had were shattered. "That partnership was the start of Larry's demise," said Grahame Begg, who trained their most successful horse, Written Tycoon.

"From what I could see of what was going on, I think Larry was a bit of a naive sort of bloke."

Mr King and his wife, Pamela, set up a syndicate called Written Bloodstock with Peters and his wife, Tina. Over the next couple of years, Mr King signed cheques in the region of $70 million to buy more than 120 racehorses.

Peters was managing the syndicate and buying horses from all over the world, including South Africa and America. At the same time, he was earning a reputation as Sydney's biggest punter with single bets of $150,000.

Things began to unravel when Peters dramatically sacked his trainer, Begg, by fax. Shortly afterwards, Peters attempted to move horses out of the stables of Begg and Melbourne trainer Robert Smerdon without paying the $250,000 owed to each of them.

Peters was then sensationally warned off racecourses around the world because he could not pay bookmakers' debts of almost $2 million.

Mr King tried to recover his money but a fire sale of the syndicate's horses managed to raise only $10 million - much of that from top horses Written Tycoon, Our Egyptian Raine and Perfect Promise.