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why has the RP put this story in members club ? Idiots.
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How times change! It would be unthinkable just twenty years ago to think that Hills wouldn't have an on-course presence.
Bookmaking giant William Hill have quit the betting ring, selling 82 racecourse pitches to the company which bets under the Sid Hooper banner.
Hills, who have been part of the fabric of betting rings in Britain for more than 80 years, will instead put their on-course focus on maximising returns from a 41-strong stable of racecourse shops.
The sale of the on-course pitches is thought to have been agreed at a price of around £2 million.
Commenting on the move, William Hill trading director Terry Pattinson said: "With a William Hill betting shop now at 41 racecourses, we have reviewed whether our rails operation continues to make commercial sense.
How to become a bookie: preparing for the perils of life in the betting jungle
"Our focus now is to provide on-course customers with a full retail experience on the racecourse, so it makes sense to move away from our rails operation, hence, we have agreed a sale with Racecourse Pitches Ltd. We wish them the best of luck with their new expanded operations."
The Sid Hooper pitches are run by third generation layer and managing director John Hooper, who said: "We have been looking for expansion opportunities for some time and we are thrilled to have acquired the William Hill on-course portfolio of pitches."
William Hill: pictured in his Piccadilly office
William Hill: pictured in his Piccadilly office
Popperfoto
William Hill, after whom the company is named, was widely regarded as one of the greatest bookmakers of his era.
Prior to opening a string of betting shops – which was made possible by the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act – Hill was a titan of the racecourse.
After setting up at Northolt Park in 1933, Hill's reputation grew and he dominated the betting ring especially during the period of 1941-55.
SP reporter Geoffrey Hamlyn wrote: "Four or even five-figure bets were nothing unusual, and he would stand horses in the ante-post races for £50,000 [equivalent to £2.4m today] or more, a lot of money in those days."
Hill died aged 68 on October 15, 1971, after suffering a heart attack in the Rutland hotel in Newmarket.
Hills, who have been part of the fabric of betting rings in Britain for more than 80 years, will instead put their on-course focus on maximising returns from a 41-strong stable of racecourse shops.
The sale of the on-course pitches is thought to have been agreed at a price of around £2 million.
Commenting on the move, William Hill trading director Terry Pattinson said: "With a William Hill betting shop now at 41 racecourses, we have reviewed whether our rails operation continues to make commercial sense.
How to become a bookie: preparing for the perils of life in the betting jungle
"Our focus now is to provide on-course customers with a full retail experience on the racecourse, so it makes sense to move away from our rails operation, hence, we have agreed a sale with Racecourse Pitches Ltd. We wish them the best of luck with their new expanded operations."
The Sid Hooper pitches are run by third generation layer and managing director John Hooper, who said: "We have been looking for expansion opportunities for some time and we are thrilled to have acquired the William Hill on-course portfolio of pitches."
William Hill: pictured in his Piccadilly office
William Hill: pictured in his Piccadilly office
Popperfoto
William Hill, after whom the company is named, was widely regarded as one of the greatest bookmakers of his era.
Prior to opening a string of betting shops – which was made possible by the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act – Hill was a titan of the racecourse.
After setting up at Northolt Park in 1933, Hill's reputation grew and he dominated the betting ring especially during the period of 1941-55.
SP reporter Geoffrey Hamlyn wrote: "Four or even five-figure bets were nothing unusual, and he would stand horses in the ante-post races for £50,000 [equivalent to £2.4m today] or more, a lot of money in those days."
Hill died aged 68 on October 15, 1971, after suffering a heart attack in the Rutland hotel in Newmarket.
"Retail experience" ffs. It's a betting shop, not sodding Harrods!
I'd like to suggest that Hill acquired a lot of his prize outlets from my old boss Jack Swift! The oldest joke on the patch was who is the world's biggest bookmaker - William Hill, he's 6ft 3ins.
Shame but I suppose nothing stays the same, I always knew the Hills on course reps on first name terms and had a good chat with them before racing but I don't go racing much theses days.
Gave up on racing years ago so no real surprise surely that they’ve given up on their racecourse representation?
just read laddies left in 2016 I didn't know that. Game over.
Lately, the final shows on tv have been ridiculously shortened by the time the SP is put out. It smells of an horrendous stitch-up!
While they had a presence it was not a very active one. I never felt they were trying for business and their reps often were away from the pitch. I suppose that nowadays little is laid off on course compared to the days when the ring was really active.
Geoffrey Hamlyn wrote: "Four or even five-figure bets were nothing unusual, and he would stand horses in the ante-post races for £50,000 [equivalent to £2.4m today] or more, a lot of money in those days."
Just like today with the Antepost markets....
Just like today with the Antepost markets....
Retail Experience = Get as many on course punters to play the FOBT's.. especially those that are drunk.
I notice you add questions marks. Quite right. We have no idea. Many likely worthless but some must be decent earners or the buyer really will have messed up.
hills share prices at a 5 year low sad to say
worrying times for the firms.
regards
Ronnie.
worrying times for the firms.
regards
Ronnie.
If he's got them for £2 million he's stolen them although I heard it was 2.5 and that's still cheap.
so if mr hooper pays say £2.5 million ~ racecourse commission @ 9.6% = £240000 ~ if they believe the sales figure is realistic [doubtful]
and then he sells some of them on for another £1.5 million ~ commission = £144000
oh plus the agt £24 per pick to put them in the auction and £60 transfer fee
perhaps he might get some sort of discount for his bulk buying/trading
and then he sells some of them on for another £1.5 million ~ commission = £144000
oh plus the agt £24 per pick to put them in the auction and £60 transfer fee
perhaps he might get some sort of discount for his bulk buying/trading
Of these 82 pitches , how many of them would be worth more than 100k if sold individually? . Somebody mentioned that the guy Cooper stole them for 2 and a half million, I must be looking at a different game , because if I had that kind of money , Racecourse pitches would be the last thing I’d be investing in . Of these 82 pitches , surely 50 of them aren’t worth a sausage .
He must have invested well over 2.5 million before acquiring the Hills pitches,he's been buying up every decent pitch in the south for the last couple of years.
Yes there will be a lot of rubbish in the 82 pitches but there wouldn't be much change out of a million for Ascot,Cheltenham and York for starters.
Yes there will be a lot of rubbish in the 82 pitches but there wouldn't be much change out of a million for Ascot,Cheltenham and York for starters.
Sorry Democrat don't get it? what am I comparing to York?
I quoted York with them,don't forget there's 2 pitches at Ascot and Cheltenham whereas 1 at York while obviously Cheltenham is the most expensive pitch.
The three meetings you mentioned are probably the top 3 tracks in the country , but where’s the next million and a half coming from ?. What about the prospect of a cashless society ?, it surely is only a question of when . I don’t get it myself, expenses continue to rise, turnover is way down , margins are tighter than a cats arrse, yet people think pitches are a good investment.
I know what you're saying Jimeen and i'm not saying a lot of these pitches are worth it but that's the market at the moment.He's actually mainly responsible for the increase of prices for the top pitches in many cases as he's been buying them all but its also caused a shortage in top pitches and people who want these pitches have to pay for it now.
Fair enough Ribero , I understand what you are saying . I suppose you could liken it too these soccer players or National Hunt horses. You know the soccer player can’t be worth 60 or 70 million but if a team wants a similar player, then thats what they are forced to pay , the same as people giving half a million for Irish pointers , it’s madness but there’s a queue to buy them .
Not for discussion on here Mr Dervish, its bad enough as it is
do the buyers mob have their own reps or likely to keep on the hills guys? have bet with them on course for more than 30 yrs and will be a loss to the scene if they are gone for good
Don't know his actual plans but fairly sure he will be offloading a lot of the pitches especially in the north,if the figure is 2-2.5 million he would definitely show a profit with the sales imo.Good luck to him,must be good fun deciding what to keep and what to sell and see them on the auction site,as I said previously he will no doubt be very popular with plenty of kind souls offering to take them off his hands,lol.
Adge,i believe ITK is unavailable this week as today he's been measured up for his BK jump suit before a 3 day intensive course with Bear Grylls in preparation for the challenges of Hexham etc.
the game has gone
have a look at gvc share price today
even the cfo is jumping ship.
yosser where are you.
regards
Ronnie.
have a look at gvc share price today
even the cfo is jumping ship.
yosser where are you.
regards
Ronnie.
bookies make nothing laying horses anymore. its an everyday occurrence that 4/5 favs win on any card. its been finished for years.
That being the case knox they should just lay the outers !!! Happy days.
fook all interested in backing outers plus huge liabilities
just shy of plus 25 points profit today alone backing favs...
you will never get a day like that laying, hence the decline of horse racing bookies
you will never get a day like that laying, hence the decline of horse racing bookies
looks as though mr hooper is selling picks one at a time
all credit to him if he does this rather than selling chunks at a time
he will maximise his profit and give everyone a fair crack of the whip
well done
all credit to him if he does this rather than selling chunks at a time
he will maximise his profit and give everyone a fair crack of the whip
well done
Knoxville, I presume you avoided the favs in the 2.00 and 2.35.
i think you will find all the northern pitches will be open to offers
spot the bargains ~ not sure newcastle nh rails 4 is one of them !!
Think the figure paid was over 6m and nearly all pitches north of Watford will be back on the market fairly sharpish...perhaps it will be a bit of good business....personally would not bet ten on that there are bookmakers pitches full stop in ten years time (Monday- Friday anyway)
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