this is why it's a good idea for racecourses to be industry-owned and betting firms to be independent

Magna Entertainment, owner of Golden Gate and Santa Anita racecourses, and Expressbet pari-mutuel wagering on those tracks is about to file for bankruptcy.

Read this article from The Paulick Report

So two of the USA's best racecourses are about to go broke. You'd think there's a buyer out there somewhere for them. But what about all the debts for prizemoney etc to owners, trainers, jockeys? Most of them are really struggling at the moment, they need this like a hole in the head, particularly with the US-style of racing where they stick to one track (at least for several weeks or months at a time) rather than race all over the state or country. Great Leighs going tits up in the UK is totally different - payments are centralised and jockeys and trainers run all over the UK.

On top of this, Expressbet holds hundres of thousands, probably millions of funds in betting accounts from their gamblers. There is no regulatory system in the States where the company has to put up a huge security bond with the local regulator which can be drawn upon if the firm gets in financial trouble.

This is not the first track owner to go bust in the US - they need proper gambling regulation with racetracks (a commodity which can easily go bankrupt) and betting firms (impossible to go broke if run by anyone who can work a calculator) kept miles apart otherwise this ugly cycle will continue...

UPDATE - UPDATE

Magna Entertainment has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however Expressbet is not one of the subsidiary companies included in the Chapter 11 filing.

Comments

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,

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

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...

Sport is made for betting

Search This Blog