The horse racing fan is not well catered for by the industry service providers. Consider these facts:
1. The horse racing industry (for that is what it is ) has allowed the fixture list to degenerate into a pile of poor quality racing which has bored the fan silly and done very little to encourage new fans. Unintended consequence: less interest rather than more. Set tariffs. Unintended consequence: More drift to lower grade racing.
2. Entrance costs for the courses remain high compared to other countries and out of reach of anyone who wants to take his/her family. You might even get charged twice the normal price if there is a concert on , which probably you don't want to see, unless of course you are primarily interested in the music with the horses tacked on.
3. If you do go, with a few notable exceptions, the food remains poor value, as does the drink. And if if you need a comfortable place to sit and eat or just to watch the racing, you will have to fight for the few places available.And if millions are spent on the course (c.f Ascot) the money isn't spent for the benefit of the average fan but instead for the corporates.
4. If you have had any joy in making your betting pay (despite the chunk you lose to insiders) you've probably had your account closed by bookmakers or restricted to silly stakes, in which case you have almost certainly gravitated/been forced to come to BF where if you are lucky enough to have knocked up a profit against the bots and the IR sharks then you will certainly be looking at 40% profit tax - a rate high enough to make you think twice about risking any stake at all and certainly being attracted back to betting with the books again.
5. On the other hand, you can watch all the racing you want for a small fee for 50% and free for the other 50%, which to the fan makes actually going racing seem to be a poor choice. You can access all the information you need for a small monthly fee for the RP or free to ATR site or the RUK site.
So, in summary, you can follow racing much better than you ever could except that its hardly likely that you will want to go racing or even have a bet should you feel like it because of the "no winners wanted" notices in the windows of BM's and now BF. What a strange state of affairs there now exists. Create the demand and then squash it. Is it any wonder that the sport is losing its core base without seemingly being successful in finding new fans?
And by shifting everything to a sat it means that half the people dont bother with the ever increasing muck during the week.
It's a bit like living in a monastery for six days a week and then being let out with Three Brazilian hookers, a crate of beer and a bag full of Columbia's finest for 24 hours!!
And by shifting everything to a sat it means that half the people dont bother with the ever increasing muck during the week.It's a bit like living in a monastery for six days a week and then being let out with Three Brazilian hookers, a crate of beer
A good post Sandown, however, (and please don't think I'm nit-picking)
4. If you have had any joy in making your betting pay (despite the chunk you lose to insiders) you've probably had your account closed by bookmakers or restricted to silly stakes, in which case you have almost certainly gravitated/been forced to come to BF where if you are lucky enough to have knocked up a profit against the bots and the IR sharks then you will certainly be looking at 40% profit tax - a rate high enough to make you think twice about risking any stake at all nd certainly being attracted back to betting with the books again.
I think it's only right to point out there is an alternitive to BF.
A good post Sandown, however, (and please don't think I'm nit-picking)4. If you have had any joy in making your betting pay (despite the chunk you lose to insiders) you've probably had your account closed by bookmakers or restricted to silly stakes,
Why do you,and others, feel it so necessary to try and the get the world believing that premium charge applies to everybody?
You all know that the vast majority will never be affected so why carry on distorting the truth?
This just deflects from all the good points you make.
Why do you,and others, feel it so necessary to try and the get the world believing that premium charge applies to everybody?You all know that the vast majority will never be affected so why carry on distorting the truth? This just deflects from all
Stewart your perception that there are alternatives with lower comms rates is an after thought my friend in the battle that has been going on for years between the exchanges and bookmakers, the stark reality is if you care to do some real research into each exchange and look up betdak in wikipedia that Desmond the owner has had to pump millions into betdak just to keep it running and its only advantage a lower start rate of commission rate has failed to attract any share of the massive market lead that betfair has maintained all along, I in no way agree with the pc2 as its too high for us punters but betfair know that the liquidity advantage of betfair is too good for the big players to pass by for lesser returns at betdak as I have been explaining all along and others .now desmond who want profits just as much as the next man has too look over the fence at the leader making even more profit that they will use to further enhance and move the growth forward so its check-mate really bar a mass migration which isn't happening.
Anyway full credit sandown on a brilliant post perhaps racing would benefit from the allowance of exchanges at trackside so the punter gets a good day out at the races instead of being fleeced but perhaps there lies the problem, racing is too engrossed in its old ways and needs more positive control to lead it into the millennium correctly.
p.s. good luck too all exchanges and there customers.
Stewart your perception that there are alternatives with lower comms rates is an after thought my friend in the battle that has been going on for years between the exchanges and bookmakers, the stark reality is if you care to do some real research in
The continued fascination racing has in extending meetings by an extra day and/or getting a must have Sat as the end of the meeting beggars belief.
They don't seem to understand the less is more concept. Plus Sat is not only full of other racing anyway, but also full of all the competing sports and atractions looking for our leisure pound.
Increasingly through an ageing population and more flexible working hours there are a whole raft of potential midweek customers to be targeted at a time when often there is not a great deal else on.
Something like the Dante meeting is a glorious experience when you can attend good quality racing, during the week and the experience actually feels a bit special. Plus those in attendance are much more likely to be true racing fans/repeat customers therefore much more likely to be having a bet and getting immersed in the whole experience and hopefully passing on the good word to others.
However, racing doesn't want any of this nonsense in promoting its product to a core market. It just wants a quick fix of Saturday booze-ups full of £1 ew bettors who couldn't care less if the horse they are betting on is called Frankel or Frank Spencer.
The continued fascination racing has in extending meetings by an extra day and/or getting a must have Sat as the end of the meeting beggars belief.They don't seem to understand the less is more concept. Plus Sat is not only full of other racing anywa
You're right to point out that an alternative to BF does exist. Let's hope that they don't follow the same pricing strategy eventually.
JTG
What you say is true but nevertheless the promised land is now known to be less welcoming than it was and maybe that thought prevents some from ever making the journey
stewartybYou're right to point out that an alternative to BF does exist. Let's hope that they don't follow the same pricing strategy eventually.JTGWhat you say is true but nevertheless the promised land is now known to be less welcoming than it was a
Does anyone think that the big bookmakers and on course bookies controlled by them with pricing have given racing generally a bad name, the grand national shows what the public can do when they fall in love with a race but isn't that an demonstration of rubbish prices for the most difficult race in the world and puts joe public off ever bothering to see a real race say on the flat or national hunt courses, then of course the racing cant be viewed on tv that much only Saturdays as sis owned by the bookmakers port it to themselves and its 15 grand for anyone else to watch effectively pushing out many private bookmakers from making a decent profit after an effective service tax.
By the way heres a little bit of business maths to demonstrate that an alternative/additional racing media system could and may come to light one day.
current racing media system = sis & turf tv =(10,000 LBO X £15,000)=150 million gbp
possible additional media system = internet/sky/freeview subscription =(1,000,000 X £150(£14 a month))=150 million gbp
Now of course maybe hoping for a million subscribers is over optimistic but the fact is what ever the amount joined up it would be most helpful for the tracks and courses and the racing industry if they received extra Levey from such an operation and there are many racing fans that would enjoy watching the racing live, till then one can only scrape around for scraps of tv coverage and dream of a better day.
Does anyone think that the big bookmakers and on course bookies controlled by them with pricinghave given racing generally a bad name, the grand national shows what the public can do when they fall in love with a race but isn't that an demonstration
Well the bbc cant afford it as they cant get money from advertising as the racing does well on c4 for advertising revenue but the bbc get nothing, imagine the advertising revenue for an online/tv racing media provider that had a large audience, online is the best solution as online tv is the future and it can show adverts at the same time as races, even multiplexing many streams.
Well the bbc cant afford it as they cant get money from advertising as the racing does well on c4 for advertising revenue but the bbc get nothing, imagine the advertising revenue for an online/tv racing media provider that had a large audience, onlin
zilzal1 01 Sep 11 12:10 Joined: 05 Oct 03 | Topic/replies: 6,562 | Blogger: zilzal1's blog And by shifting everything to a sat it means that half the people dont bother with the ever increasing muck during the week.
It's a bit like living in a monastery for six days a week and then being let out with Three Brazilian hookers, a crate of beer and a bag full of Columbia's finest for 24 hours!!
zz
zilzal101 Sep 11 12:10 Joined: 05 Oct 03 | Topic/replies: 6,562 | Blogger: zilzal1's blogAnd by shifting everything to a sat it means that half the people dont bother with the ever increasing muck during the week.It's a bit like living in a monastery
I thought that bookmakers like the occasional big winner - brings in new punters that will for certain fill the bookies pockets and more from the losses incurred paying out the big winner.
I thought that bookmakers like the occasional big winner - brings in new punters that will for certain fill the bookies pockets and more from the losses incurred paying out the big winner.