Death of The Hill Bookmakers?

wonder how theyl work out the badge

expect an ad in saturdays post,agt inviting applications for the post of PCO at epsom during the derby festival.PCO [pykie control officer].

no longer will you be able to bet where you like, you will be told where to bet by the AGT, in effect like any other racetrack in the country in that respect, the one day of the year that you used to be able to bet semi-sensible has probably gone for good

Perhaps the northern petition boys will be bidding to operate this area?

The Hill Correct - not sure how the AGT will work the logistics the Hill after all is not like the betting ring at any other course...

Does anybody have any idea how many books operate on the Downs ( exc. Lonsdale ) on Derby day ? The radical proposed change to the existing modus operandi will mean less books presumably i.e those without their own joints will be knocked out. The current system works by virtue of the fact that the books on the Downs ( running rail from winning post to Tattenham Corner ) but not on the Hill work by self regulation i.e find your own spot and pitch up. In this way a broad coverage is achieved that enables all of the public ( which can be a vast crowd ) to have reasonable access to a bookmaker. Closely defined areas would make this access far more difficult and result in an alienation of both punters and layers. AGT take note !

They use spray can at Chester course enlosure whitmarsh. As for your seniority question I am not sure that it would count for much even if it could be proved and if a closed tender is put in place as is being rumoured it would be irrelevant anyway.

I thought seniority was determined by how much you bunged certain people !!  Seemed that way last time I went about 10 years ago.

I am writing to let you know that following a detailed review of betting on The
Hill, Epsom Downs Racecourse has decided to change  the way that betting
positions are offered to bookmakers.
As you are no doubt aware, there are nine betting areas on The Hill as follows:-
Rubbing House
Tattenham Corner
Market/Old London Rd
Hill Coach Park
Car Park 28
Walton Area
Car Park 26
Hill Betting Area (joints)
Hill Betting Area (tripods)
There will be a further betting area introduced this year known as The Jubilee
Family Enclosure, making a total of ten betting areas for 2012.
We have decided to bring in AGT to administer the betting activity on The Hill in
2012 and beyond.  AGT will be providing a number of Betting Ring Managers
specifically to The Hill for that purpose.
In February you will have the opportunity to bid for a position in any of the areas
for Oaks Day, Derby Day & August BH Monday in 2012. The resulting bids
(highest first & so on) will produce a Pick List which will be used by AGT to
allocate bookmaker’s positions. The approach for subsequent years will be
determined after the 2012 season has finished.
A prospectus will be available from AGT, who will manage the whole bidding
process on our behalf.
Cont/d. Page 2 of 2
At this stage you do not need to do anything. You will automatically be sent a
bidding prospectus pack from AGT by 24
th
February. The pack will fully explain
the process and provide detailed plans of the betting areas.   Details will also
appear on the AGT website. In the meantime should you have any immediate
questions these can be referred to Steve Clare 07587 798067.
I would stress that our reason for regularising the administration of betting on
The Hill is to ensure that Epsom Downs Racecourse properly discharges its
responsibilities under its Betting Premises Licence which includes that area.  We
recognise that many bookmakers on The Hill have been offering a betting service
at Epsom for many years and we look forward to that continuing in 2012 and
beyond.

How come we firstly learn about it on a public forum?

DAVY,IF SOME WELL INFORMED BOOKMAKERS THAT REPRESENT THE REST OF US HAD POSITIONS ON THE HILL THAT THEY HAD OPERATED FOR YEARS,TRUST ME THERE WOULD BE NO TENDERS OFFERED,IVE ALSO HEARD FROM A VERY GOOD SOURCE THAT THE LOWER RAILS AND TATTS AT CHELTENHAM WILL GET THE FIRST PICKS ON THE HILL AT EPSOM

Nothing on the agt site about build up joints being banned.

There are 2 distinct issues: Administration and Tenure.

Administration - Who really cares if AGT or Epsom do it?

Tenure - This is theft. There are hundreds of bookmakers with existing tenure and Epsom are looking to steal them.

I was actually serious when I said I was going to email Mr Grossmith

Where will the money go?AGT or Epsom does anybody know?

if you bid for one is it for life or just one season,plus how many want to go bank holiday monday and to a lesser extent oaks day ?

joke situation imo and totally in keeping with the state of affairs that our associations seem to be in ie chaos !!! thank god there is plenty of racing closer to home eh tony ?