Sport is made for betting

Today's article on the Press Association wire highlights how desperate they are for cash as their levy shrinks.... Levy Board to consult over exchanges The Levy Board has begun a consultation process relating to the issue of whether certain users of betting exchanges should pay levy on their activities. While this sounds logical enough, it's completely pointless. This has been examined over and over. Anyone that tries exclusively laying on Betfair won't be living off it. Bookmakers can't do it on-course with higher margins, so how is someone at home going to do it when the prices are always better? Sure, you can lay something they mightn't be able to lay on course, but when you have to lay 5/2 rather than 7/4, that's hardly going to be profitable in the long run. The two types of Betfair customer who do make money on racing are the new types - ones which aren't taking anything away from traditional betting revenue streams, because they simply weren't the...

Yesterday it was Racing NSW expecting punters to allow them to install monitoring software on their laptops if they take them on-course to trade. Today it's British racing's representatives on the Levy Board asking bookmakers to pay up to 76% more to cover racing. Betting companies should be paying for the right to field on British racing, I do not dispute that, but let's be practical about it. The biggest names in the industry are doing all they can to avoid tax and levy, so the industry decides to ask for nearly double the current amount? They have rocks in their heads. Sure you need to start with a big 'offer' as a starting point for negotiation, but it's rather obvious there is no wish for negotiation here, just a demand. Racing betting turnover, as a percentage of business for bookmakers is going one way - DOWN. Betting companies (if I say bookmakers out of habit, I do mean for the term to cover exchanges, totes and bookies) are making bigger profits, but o...

They could do worse - at least he can connect with the bloke drinking bitter or an alcopop, as opposed drinking Pimm's or Veuve Clicquot in the private boxes. Here's a response to my Racing for Change discussion from WhatTheBookiesSay.com Dial 999 for Hearn Horse racing is currently run by tweed wearing, yar yar spitting, self important members of the upper classes who offer a limp handshake to anyone that’s not called Henrietta or Tarquin and are totally out of touch when it comes to dealing with people called Janet of John, and from what I’ve seen I fear that whilst they may have the best interests of horse racing in mind, Racing for Change, may well fall into the Tarquin category and fail to connect with the likes of Johnny. The racing hierarchy and those that like to be associated with it put too much emphasis on its history and that’s its main problem (along with the fact that they’re stuck in their ways and lack the creativity to bring the sport up to date). The sport of...

I like to rant about racing issues, so it's about time I had a crack at British racing's Racing For Change. Here are the points listed as part of the Racing for Change initiatives with my comments inserted: -Trial of decimal odds at several race meetings over one weekend in spring 2010. I think this is more to do with the failing education system than racing's problem, but I see their point. But going to 1.5/1 instead of 6/4 is a waste of time. If you're going to change, do it properly and go to proper decimals - the Betfair/Australian bookies way (2.5). One state of Australia went to decimalised fractions (18/10 etc) on its own and it had zero effect. They all ended up going to proper decimal odds in the late 90s. BUT Australia had a key reason to switch - the totes had taken over and the younger generation were more accustomed to seeing tote odds broadcast on the TV or in the paper. The Tote is almost a non-entity in the UK. I doubt it will make a difference at all - ...

Went to the races as a paying punter today for the first time in ages. UK racing isn't cheap at the best of times, flat racing doesn't have the excitement most of the year and it's rather cold during jumps season. TV coverage is decent enough if you can't get to the track as often as you'd like. The two main races today at Newbury, the Long Distance Hurdle and the Hennessy showed just why National Hunt racing is miles ahead of flat racing in popularity in the UK & Ireland. Big Buck's is the best staying hurdler in training, he won the top races at Cheltenham and Aintree in his class, and is going around again to repeat the feat. He faced a small, but quality field at level weights and won very, very easily. Special thanks to the bookies who put up 1/2. It is very rare I bet at those odds, but this horse should have been 1/3 at best, so the value had to be taken. The Hennessy is the best handicap chase of the season. Note that key word which some purists dete...

Today at Wetherby, leading jockey Barry Geraghty took the wrong course on 9-4 favourite My Petra when leading and was instantly out of the race. His negligent actions cost punters hundreds of thousands of pounds. Nothing against the guy, he is a class act and threw his hands up to admit his guilt, but for the stewards to only give him a 12-day suspension shows just how little respect the industry has for itself and its patrons. Booed as he returned the paddock, Geraghty said: "I walked the track earlier on and I was well aware of it..." It wasn't as if he was riding on the track for the first time. It is a jockey's responsibility to know where he is supposed to go. Actions which cause punters to do their dough cold deserve harsh penalties. Remember Roger Loughran on Central House ? Similarly the judge Jane Stickels and anyone like her should be either banned from the sport or forced to perform cross-checks every time (like people in most jobs) before declaring result...

No great surprise there, but racing really needs to do something about keeping its superstars in the game for longer. One season is not enough to class him as a true champion - you have to come back and defend your crowns to earn that. As a 2yo, he showed potential, at 3 he was the best by far and at 4 and beyond he'll be shagging his life away making his shareholders very rich, and hopefully throwing some talented progeny. So what can flat racing do to prolong the racing careers of its stars? Jumping tops the popularity stakes in Britain mostly because Kauto Star, Denman, Hardy Eustace, Istabraq and other stars come back year after year. The public feel a connection with these horses built up over more than a few months. Here's an idea - create a jackpot pool so that any horse who wins a feature, open age Group I race two years in a row gets a bonus on top of the winner's cheques. So if Sea The Stars collected £1m for winning the Arc, next year he would be racing for an ex...

The image of racing. Look at racing in the media and what do you get? A lot of old faces with little appeal to the younger generation or non-racing followers. Case in point - John McCririck. Failed bookmaker, failed punter, know-it-all, sexist bigot and regularly tarnishing the image of the sport with his 'They knew' comments. All that does is add to the negative connotations of the industry from people that barely follow it. That racing is for old people. That racing is corrupt. That racing is an old boys club. How many people have a clue what he is doing when waving his arms about? How many under the age of 45? How many under the age of 30? What other industry would allow one of its frontmen to be so politically incorrect at a time where racing is desperate for a higher profile? I'm not a fan of Matt Chapman but a lot of people are. He does have an opinion, he does come across well on camera and he is not on the wrong side of 50. Hayley Turner looked good on camera during...

Today's feature article in the Racing Post is all about the new project board charged with reinvigorating racing in Britain - Racing for Change. On the one hand, it is something the industry needs to drive it forward. On the other, it's a body full of chairmen and bigwigs who have had a big say in getting the industry where it is now. Some of the proposals: - Identifying key fixtures to clearly emphasise start and finish of premier Flat season Doesn't the Lincoln at Doncaster, soon followed by the Craven meeting at Newmarket already mark the start of the season? The Champions Day meeting at Newmarket virtually finishes the season already. - Create new showcase finale, to crown the champions of the Flat season The likes of Ballydoyle and Godolphin control racing in Britain because they pick and choose where their horses run (and how those races are run) in order to create more commercial value for their breeding operations. The champions are unlikely to run a dozen times in ...