The poor levels of prize money in British horse racing is not news, but a row has been brewing lately between a major bookmaking group and a racecourse ownership group regarding funding in the sport.
Flutter, the parent company of Paddy Power and Sky Bet, has warned that racing must accept major changes and has labelled the sport “unprofitable” for bookmakers.
A declining audience and higher costs for media rights are being blamed by the bookmakers, leaving Flutter to question where their money goes given the shrinking prize money levels in the country.
Flutter Puts Pressure on Arc
Just a week or so ago, Flutter put major pressure on Arc, a large racecourse owner, to renegotiate media rights costs. Paddy Power and Sky Bet chose not to offer early odds for a meeting at Arc’s Chepstow having done something similar earlier at Bath.
Initially in fact, Flutter threatened to offer no odds at Bath but eventually published prices just before race time after a legal intervention by Arc. The betting brand has also pulled some major sponsorship from Arc tracks.
Flutter maintains that they pay too much to stream races and into the Levy. They intimate it’s basically not worth it now, but do they have the right to really say that?
Racing Still Reliant on Ownership Groups
It’s probably fair to say that racing still relies too much on owners. We already know racehorse owners generally put money into the game without, over time at least, taking anything out. What we also know is that we don’t get the same warm-hearted financial efforts from racecourse owners.
It’s not that we should expect that of course. There’s not a call for groups owning racecourses to spend millions on prize money and upkeep at a loss. However, some of our tracks are looking rather worn, prize money levels are a disgrace and yet there is a simple solution.
Despite the faults of racecourse ownership groups, the bookies in this debate arguably have a bit of a cheek. Many of today’s modern brands have their roots in old-fashioned betting shops built on horse racing. They exist partly because of this sport and now want to ditch it. What to do?
Time to Introduce Mass Pool Betting?
We’re loath to complain about something in horse racing without offering a solution. Frankly, and this can start a war between some of the sport’s major stakeholders, some of our bookmakers are the very problem.
Internet bookmakers aren’t the issue here as such. On-course bookmakers however may well be, admittedly accidentally, causing some of the sport’s issues.
Instead of betting with on-course bookmakers, racegoers really should be using a pool betting system. This is the very obvious way to keep money in the sport.
This is the major point. If there was no money in the sport which was generated organically rather than from rich owners, then fine, it really would be just a matter of time before the sport ceased. But there is money and lots of it.
Millions of pounds are bet at all our major weekend and festival meetings. Aside from a small amount paid for the pitch however, most of it goes into the bookies’ satchels and then out into the car park with them never to be seen in racing again. It must stop now.
When you employ a pool betting system on mass, much like the Tote, the profits are guaranteed. You allocate the right amount to each winning ticket, as the Tote does now, and the track or ownership group keeps the money left over.
This is how it’s done in America and Australia. This money allows them to maintain visually beautiful racetracks which means a better product for racegoers. People want to head to the racecourse for their day out. Those are sort of floating voters racing needs.
It also means a better deal for real racing fans, owners, trainers, jockeys, breeders and everyone else affected as prize money levels can be higher. It’s not difficult and we already have a model, albeit an underused one.
What makes this depressing situation worse is that some of the big-name bookmakers now complaining actually do bet on course at some of the major meetings.
They want to pull out of racing or deny it further funding. It isn’t profitable they say. But they miraculously want to come back when major festivals roll around so that they can be there in person on the rails, taking those big five-figure bets.
They, like all of us, should accept the good and the bad of this sport. To make it self-sustainable however, we must be willing to change the way we bet and quickly.