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I am not sure a Tote monopoly could ever happen here. The bookmakers are firmly established and would fight it tooth and nail.
Punters still like the idea of beating the SP or getting a good antepost price. Tote betting is generally boring and can be a rip off if the take out is too high.
However, the up side to a Tote monopoly is obvious. My only racing experience outside of Britain and Ireland was a trip to Belmont Park. I paid $2 to see a ten race card featuring two Grade 1s. I think the lowest value race was worth something like $40,000. Prices for food and drink were not excessive.
Too many British racecourses offer a poor experience now. Expensive admission, even on quiet midweek days. Poor quality and expensive food and drink. Not enough places to sit etc.
I suppose it is a question of what punters want more. A well priced day out or better betting opportunities.
No Tote monopoly in OZ , plenty betting options inc Ladbrokes etc and on course bookies .
Randwick Saturday , standard day , 10 races . Minimum stake 120 K AUD , that’s for a race restricted to Country train out of town horses , rest 160k , main race 300 K .
Cannot fathom why it’s so poor money wise in UK , someone must be making plenty .Thanks Helcat, I wasn’t aware of that.
I do realise that a tote monopoly will almost certainly never happen here. As you say, bookies wouldn’t want it and equally punters are also set in their ways. But we do have to accept that there are certain advantages to it that are not going to be enjoyed by keeping the status quo.
State of racing – one of my local tracks, Salisbury stage a meeting next week which includes two Listed races – which are supported by three class 6 handicaps!
I did some research and ten years ago, Salisbury staged 10 class 6 races across 14 meetings. This year they have 20 class 6 races scheduled across 15 meetings. Presumably done in order to ensure the field size necessary to attract the maximum media rights payment.
And I’m pretty sure you’d find the same lowering of the overall class of the racing at many other tracks.
What are admission prices like for everyday meetings in Oz? Facilities, food, etc?
Goodwood was definitely a lot quieter this year. I am sure that last year’s atrocious weather is a factor but not the only one. Didn’t help that the website didn’t advertise the shuttle bus from the station.
Nearly didn’t go myself as I thought they’d stopped it. At £9 return, taxi is probably cheaper anyway if there are 4 of you.There seemed far fewer coked-up idiots (probably as a result of the sniffer dogs at the entrance and, apparently, in the gents’ toilet). Still plenty of drunks but at least the the mass brawl that hit the headlines a couple of years ago wasn’t repeated.
I meant to mention the £9 return on the bus. That does seem excessive.
Other courses provide a free bus. The service from Ludlow station to the course does three journeys.
OK, Goodwood gets larger crowds and it is not practical to only have one bus going there and back a few times – but £9 seems like punters being ripped off before they have even got to the course.
Gladiateur
Everyday meeting zero or close to . Iam heading over to Turnball Stakes in few months at Flemington , expecting 30 bucks maybe so 15 quid in UK money. In NZ today , 10 races inc 50 K in UK money sprint , decent field for mid winter and it’s zero entry . Full fields bar a 6 runner race . Be disappointed if racebook is not free as usual but maybe a quid . Cheap as , food pretty reasonable , free parking on course .
Never felt too ripped off food, drink wise down these parts . A very cheap afternoon out in winter sun .
I cannot get my head around 22 quid for 6 races . Spent years going racing back home , still follow it a lot and still love going when Iam over , but I do worry for its future.
Loved watching Goodwood last week, no where else had that difference in courses , it needs preserving .Is the sport in general helped by the continuing fascination with staging the racing solely as an irritating preliminary to the main event, the music show.
I’d really like to go to Newbury on Saturday week to watch the racing, which includes the G2 Hungerford Stakes and the G3 Geofffrey Freer. But the juveniles now running Newbury have no interest in people that actually want just to see the horses and watch the races.
The big event that day is a performance by Dizzee Rascal (??). Means nothing to me, but he’s presumably popular as Newbury expect to get away with charging £65 for Members and £50 for Grandstand tickets. So I won’t be there, the combination of those prices and the likely presence of thousands of fans of whoever that is, and the fact that the music stage will block the view of the home straight, is sufficient to put me off. For contrast, Ascot for King George day was £35 for Grandstand admission.
“No Tote monopoly in OZ , plenty betting options inc Ladbrokes etc and on course bookies .
Randwick Saturday , standard day , 10 races . Minimum stake 120 K AUD , that’s for a race restricted to Country train out of town horses , rest 160k , main race 300 K .
Cannot fathom why it’s so poor money wise in UK , someone must be making plenty”.
——————–Hellcat’,
Is there a betting tax in Australia?
Do bookmakers collect a betting tax from bookmakers that goes directly towards prize money?Last time Royal Ascot winner Asfoora won in his homeland it was in the 8 runner Group 2 Schillaci.
Two were sent off quite short in the market whereas half the field started 30/1 or bigger.
In Britain it is usual for outsiders to have less of a bookmakers mark up than shorter priced horses…
And the youngest horse in the race was 5 years old.
So the form was pretty much known – less likely than in some races to get something improving significantly. Because of this – in Britain it is usual for older (exposed) horses to have less of a bookmakers mark up too…
And yet for this race the overround was 118%. An average of over 2% mark up per horse despite the age of horses and half the field starting 30/1 or bigger!Is a significant amount of money going from the poor Aussie punter (via the bookmakers) to pay the rich Australian owners prize money… And therefore Bookmakers cannot afford to offer anything like the odds British bookmakers would on a similar event?
Or are Australian bookmakers just ripping off the Aussie betting public with crap odds?
Either way… are the “betting options” you mention good options?
That said, I believe (is it still the case?) at least you can “get on” in Australia with a law that bookmakers have to take anyone’s bet? Am quite envious of that.
Value Is EverythingYep, the way racecourses don’t seem to be interested in what the racing enthusiast wants anymore is one reason I no longer go Racing.
I remember going to one of the first Music days on the Hungerford card. Putting my bet on by having to clamber over those sitting on the ground claiming their spot to see the concert. Then trying to explain to the once a year punter why the bookmaker was not “ripping him off” with the significant rule 4 because the fav was withdrawn at the start.
Lot has changed since the first time I went to Hungerford day. My Grandfather who seldom had a bet saw a horse go very slow to post and had me rushing around the on course bookies to get a fiver on at the best price available.50/1 Abuzz. Won in the tightest of tight finishes.
Value Is EverythingState of the Racing league tonight, utter shitshow. Racing delayed in the first instance because of sheep on the track. State of ground described as good to firm, changed to good to soft after race 1, cue non runners. They haven’t had that much rain, just a fair bit of ‘light’ stuff so must have been wrong with the reading earlier today or lied about it and hoped for the best. Probably watered too.
Won’t catch up on the time either because, well, erm can’t be bothered I suppose.As I had a cheap ticket and I’m not far from Chepstow I decided to go tonight.
Only a fare crowd and all the outside food stalls etc were shut up and witnessing them trying to drum up interest in the team concept was embarrassing.
Indeed the trespassing sheep was the highlight,I left after 3 races.It is bad when a selling race at Newmarket tomorrow as a horse rated 73 which would be the joint 5th rated horse at the whole of the Brighton meeting.
I see at last that some people are coming out at last and saying how poor the racing is becoming.
It is becoming dire.The Racing League should be scrapped. It’s like damaged goods. This evenings fixture was took boring to a whole new level.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I was interested in Ralph Beckett’s comments about winning the November Handicap and the money to the winner being just over £38,000, yet when he last won it 19 years ago, it was just over £36,000.
Based on that, it’s a mammoth 4.78% increase to the winner over the 19 years!!
I looked at some prestigious international races and I was really surprised by the prize money for the Derby and 2000 Guineas by comparison to the other races. Of course there are extras like stud value, but I was just looking at prize money.
In the 19 years, the Derby has increased 21.7%, which is poor by comparison to the Arc de Triomphe at 240%.All fees to the owners have increased, but perhaps AP or others might be able to give an insight into that.
Of course this isn’t extensive and scientific, but from this, who is actually making money from UK racing, because it doesn’t appear to be the owners and I doubt most trainers are reaping it in either?
NOVEMBER HANDICAP
2024…….1st £36,078
2005…….1st £34,431
+4.78348% increase
.
.
.
ARC DE TRIOMPHE
2024…….1st £2,484,347
2005…….1st £729,447
+240.58%
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DUBAI WORLD CUP
2024…….1st £5,480,314
2005…….1st £1,875,000
+192.3%
.
KENTUCKY DERBY
2024…….1st £2,440,944
2005…….1st £853,958
+ 185.8%
.
COX PLATE
2024…….1st £1,604,278
2005…….1st £744,898
+115.4%
.MELBOURNE CUP
2024…….1st £2,352,941
2005…….1st £1,265,306
+86.0%
.
2000 GUINEAS
2024…….1st £283,550
2005…….1st £185,600
+52.8%
.
DERBY
2024…….1st £882,407
2005…….1st £725,000
+21.7%
.
————
.
JAPAN CUP
2023…….1st £3,171,349
2005…….1st £1,290,418
+145.7%
.
HONG KONG MILE
2023…….1st £1,908,413
2005…….1st £536,193
+145.7%.
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