Sport is made for betting

Australian racing is right up there with the best of the world on many fronts - the flagship event of Aus racing, the Melbourne Cup gets a local (not national unfortunately) public holiday; the prizemoney at stake considering the number of race meetings held each year; the facilities at Flemington; the press coverage etc... But the one issue where it really stands head and shoulders above UK racing in particular is stewarding and the regard for punters. National stewards decide to put punters first in overhaul of rules STEWARDS from around the country emerged from a two-day conference in Launceston with the punter in mind. A revamp of betting deductions issued when horses are scratched late, an overhaul of the rortable jockey-challenge betting, the old commission-agent bogey, etc, were on the agenda. Leading form student and respected punter Dominic Beirne overhauled the antiquated betting system. ''It will be a much fairer system and most kind to the punter,'' Ra...

Ladbrokes have joined the list of UK firms avoiding setting up in France under the current unviable licensing structure. Several firms have simply decided not to waste their time and money in a market which will deliver nothing for several years, and only if/after the French government water down the current prohibitive licensing and taxation structure. The last straw for Ladbrokes was when the French govt decided on top of extortionate turnover tax and sports rights levies, they would also have to pay VAT as well. Unibet however, who have a similar model to Bwin, of taking vast numbers of low-stake bets, are pressing on. The Betfair IPO is off to a good start. Conditional trading has the shares trading at around £15.30, after the initial valuation of £13. Tomorrow is the acid test for them though, when they become available to the public. Betsson is going from strength to strength as live betting pushes their revenues higher. Bwin, Hills and Sportingbet have released similarly h...

New Zealand Racing Board appoints new chief exec New Zealand Racing Board chairman Michael Stiassny today announced the appointment of Andrew Brown as the Board’s new chief executive. Mr Brown originates from Australia but has worked in the UK for the past 13 years. He has practised as a lawyer and a management consultant in Sydney, London and Paris. He was also Business Development Director of ITV Plc, Britain’s largest commercial TV broadcaster. Mr Brown brings a wealth of experience of the racing industry from his most recent position as Chief Operating Officer of Racecourse Media Group, where he founded and ran Racing UK, Turf TV, Racing International and thebettingsite.co.uk website to deliver significant profits for British racing. He holds an MBA from INSEAD in France, as well as a Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws and a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University. ==== The New Zealand TAB and NZ Racing Board are one in the same as the industry controls the betting there, no sign ...

Thanks to Cangamble for the tip on this one. In North America, racing punters are getting sick of the raw deal they get from the tracks with poor pools, high takeout rates and companies bickering over who owns what rather than linking together so you can bet on any race meeting in the US or Canada. Earlier today, they (HANA, Horseplayers Assocn of North America) banded together for the POOL ATTACK BUYCOTT (yes, Buycott), encouraging all punters to bet on one chosen race at a remote track to show their strength in numbers. So rather than calling on everyone to boycott a particular track or race (which would probably fail because at least 50% of people wouldn't hear the publicity and others would just bet anyway), they plan to storm the pool by boosting the regular turnover many times over. Will Rogers Downs, the chosen track, is very obscure, a regular race at a Tuesday meeting will hold $10k in the win pool. I hope it works and I hope it makes racing authorities start remembering ...

I don't see the problem with this, so long as it's done properly. Times have changed, animal welfare, health and safety and the environment are all important daily issues, and there is no reason why racing should be exempt. Making these changes now gives them a leg to stand on against animal activists and other protesters who go a step too far in their demands. Not sure what the rules are in North America, but certainly in the UK & Ireland, use of the whip is restricted. The horse must be given a chance to respond to the whip before it is struck again. Jockeys say new whip rules will change race results If they want to moan about it, how about presenting some facts with how many race results would have actually changed. People resist change - that's life, but without any facts, it's jsut the typical doomsday prediction from those it affects. It will get rid of bad jockeys who have no skill other than belting the bejesus out of a horse with the whip. And that's n...

Despite the tired whingeing of Robert Nason, the corporates always were going to start sponsoring country racing. Day-to-day racing is the bread and butter of the Betfair and the corporate bookies, they want daily business, not just on Saturdays. Rod Nicholson files a rather factual report, rather than putting his usual Tabcorp-patsy spin on things. Is it going to cut TAB turnover? I doubt it. The higher profile racing gets, the benefits flow onto everyone. Supporting racing is more than just about the return from bets being passed back to the clubs (by legislation). Betfair boost for the bush A good sign for Victorian racing, let's hope other states are open to allow similar deals as well.