Tabcorp take naming rights for the 'Bool carnival but Grafton gets shafted

Warrnambool has to be one of the best racing carnivals (festivals for UK punters) in the world. About three hours south-west of Melbourne, the city of about 30,000 people more than doubles in size for three days of racing. It's also Australia's best mix of jumps and flat racing with the Grand Annual Steeplechase and the Galleywood Hurdle providing the spectacle with the Wangoom Handicap (feature sprint) and the Warrnambool Cup the flat features.

May Racing carnival cashed-up

As the battle for sponsors gets tougher in the current economic climate, betting firms have been stepping in since the archaic and restrictive sponsorship laws were rescinded. This time it is Tabcorp and Luxbet putting their name up in lights.

Meanwhile in NSW, the Grafton carnival. another great country race week, is missing a sponsor for the Ramornie Handicap. But no bookmaker can step in because of a trade restrictive agreement between Racing NSW and Tabcorp.

CRJC facing Ramornie crisis

Let's see if Tabcorp steps in to bail them out since all of their competitors are locked out...

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Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also, ...

lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur...

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