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I went into my local bookies to place a bet on the French Guineas on Sunday morning.
Having been impressed by Midday in the Lingfield Oaks Trial on Saturday, I asked for a price. To my surprise she wasn’t on the first screen, and he eventually found her on the second screen at odds of 50-1.
I had all the money in my wallet on each way at that price. Later in the day they brought their price in line with everybody else at 6-1.
Is that just lucky, or is it dishonest? Should I have told them their price was way out of line, or just kept quiet as I did?
You may feel differently if she wins and they claim "palpable error" and pay you at 6/1!
An interesting moral dilemma BennyB. However it will be irrelevant because you won’t get paid at 50/1, as pointed out by davidbrady.
If it wins you collect at 6/1, if it loses, might be worth trying for a refund stating you only wanted it at 50/1.
Is this so – surely my bet was accepted at 50-1, and the horse was quoted at 50-1 in their book at the time?
Or am I being naïve?
This seems to be a difficult moral dilemma for you. Some will suggest doing nothing and taking your chance that if it wins the shop staff will just assume it was actually 50/1 when you placed your ante-post bet and pay-out accordingly.
If the potential winnings are enormous then presumably they’ll need to clear the payout with Head Office and then you run the risk that someone there will spot the error. If the slip shows the initials of the person who verified the odds at point of sale then they might feel duty bound to payout if you act the innocent abroad, though possibly that employee will be in hot water. Do you want someone to be disciplined?
Sometimes, pointing out shop errors to staff can help build up a good rapport with them and there might be a time when you need them to give you the benefit of the doubt. The horse might not win and you not only lose your money but also the brownie points.
If you proceed to do nothing and the horse is ‘stopped’ then it might be difficult to complain of ‘dishonesty in racing’ and simultaneously have a clear conscience.
I’m probably the last person to lecture on honesty, except that for some peculiar reason, whenever I’ve done the ‘right’ thing in life, not long after I’ve been rewarded in some other way. It’s a funny old life.- Total Posts 17716
Is it an independent bookmaker, Benny, or part of a chain?
Morally the bet should stand – the price you took was actually available at the time after all – but I very much doubt that the establishment concerned will be quite so understanding (god forbid anything should favour the punter).
That said, I’d certainly give them a call to see exactly where you stand. Should they state that the bet would be settled at 6/1, would there be any mileage in requesting a refund on the basis that the ‘product’ wasn’t as advertised? Prices in shops are an invitation to treat and set the terms for an offer of purchase to be made. In the case of betting, odds surely replace the function of prices (in the regular sense) and so could determine the legitimacy of a bet.
The bet should stand in my book. You were smart enough to get in there when you saw the price and placed the bet. Ok, its morally not great. It does only become an issue though should Midday win!
The question to ask, if the roles were reversed and the horse won wnat would the bookie do?
I do not think for one minute and I will stand corrected by a bookie if any come on here, but if you had taken say 5/1 about a horse that should have been 25/1 that wins that the bookie would say, sorry old chap here is the difference in winnings have a good day, you took 5/1 instead of 25/1
I may as previously stated be wrong but I doubt it. Good luck to you I say and I hope it wins and they pay you out.
Morals aside, I don’t know how these things work but having taken 50/1 is this the kind of bet where you can now be a layer?
KA bookmaker can refuse to pay out any bet they so wish, you can take your case up to court as its a legal binding contract now, but if it went to court they’d take the view of the bookmaker and you would be paid the 6/1.
- Total Posts 17716
Which court case are you basing that on, RedRiot?
Do NOT try and lay this horse now you got the 50/1. If you dont get paid out You could stand to lose a lot more than your original stake . One word of adivise ..if you ever get those odds again PLEASE RING ME and at the very least I could settle for the 6/1.
An owner friend of mine bet his horse with his local bookie ( a small chain) He phoned up 2 hrs before the race to see if it was ok for them to take 2 grand. They agreed to take it and he phoned up as per arrangement. He had a grand e/w at first show of 28/1 . the shop manager accepted the bet (which was recorded and witnessed). The bookie refused to pay out at 28 s and only gave him sp odds of 14/1 when it romped in by 5 lengths. He took it to tribunal and the comittee said the bookie was in the wrong but they didnt enforce the decision. He lost the difference of 14 thousand.Never take a Bookies word get everything in writing, im not saying they are all the same ,some are very honourable some are not. When you have a docket for a bet then its evidence in any court.May be worth you going back to the bookie Benny. This is a case of palpable error and there is no way you’ll get paid out. But they might (as it is unlikely to win) as a gesture of good will, agree to pay you out at a little bigger than the correct price (possibly around 8 or 9/1) if Midday does now go on to win. Where as if you did nothing until it won, they’d just pay the 6/1.
Though if they think you tried to take advantage, they won’t offer more than 6’s.Of course if you are a big losing punter with this local bookie, the more they will be willing to pay. To keep your custom. Many years ago, I knew a bloke you went in to have a double in his independant bookie. The clocks had gone back the day before and he missed the first part of the bet (a winner). Yet the bookie accepted the bet, to keep him sweet, knowing he’d get the money back even if the second horse won.
Question: If they had mistakenly offered 6/4 and you had taken it, yet when you got home realised 6/1 was the genuine price. Would you expect them to pay out 6/1 or 6/4?
Mark
Value Is EverythingDo NOT try and lay this horse now you got the 50/1. If you dont get paid out You could stand to lose a lot more than your original stake . One word of adivise ..if you ever get those odds again PLEASE RING ME and at the very least I could settle for the 6/1.
An owner friend of mine bet his horse with his local bookie ( a small chain) He phoned up 2 hrs before the race to see if it was ok for them to take 2 grand. They agreed to take it and he phoned up as per arrangement. He had a grand e/w at first show of 28/1 . the shop manager accepted the bet (which was recorded and witnessed). The bookie refused to pay out at 28 s and only gave him sp odds of 14/1 when it romped in by 5 lengths. He took it to tribunal and the comittee said the bookie was in the wrong but they didnt enforce the decision. He lost the difference of 14 thousand.Never take a Bookies word get everything in writing, im not saying they are all the same ,some are very honourable some are not. When you have a docket for a bet then its evidence in any court.That is a different scenario Equus as 28/1 was available, the price in this case was never truly available. It was a genuine mistake.
Mark
Value Is Everything
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