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Could some kind soul post the article about the Tote in today's post? Many Thanks
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British racing cannot afford to miss the boat again when it comes to the Tote
Simon Bazalgette (left) and David Thorpe (right)
Simon Bazalgette (left) and David Thorpe (right)
The UK Tote was created in 1928 by Winston Churchill, a member of the Jockey Club, as the first licensed form of off-course betting in Britain. It was created with a specific mission to support British horseracing, but has never been owned or run by the sport. Its mission was lost when it was sold to privately owned UK fixed-odds operator Betfred in 2011.
Every few years, going back to the early 1960s, racing has had opportunities to bring the Tote closer to the racing fold, but has always been thwarted. Another opportunity may arise in the next couple of years – will it be grasped?
In the early years of this century, agreement in principle was reached with the government for ownership to be transferred to the sport, but this was successfully challenged by the bookmakers and eventually became a victim of the financial crash when it was nationalised by the Tories in 2011 and sold to Betfred.
A higher (but more complex) rival bid which had the support and involvement of the sport’s stakeholders was ruled out because the government needed to show a quick win for the public finances.
Betfred acquired the Tote because of their fixed-odds business and betting shop estate, which fitted well with their existing operations. Pool betting, with a seven-year exclusive licence, was only of secondary interest, but the government would not agree to separate out the pool's operation to benefit the sport.
Seven years later, in 2019, when the exclusive licence had expired, Betfred were open to selling the pool operations, even though the exclusive licence had expired.
British racecourses created Britbet as a vehicle to acquire the Tote from Betfred. Britbet was willing to pay a significant proportion of Betfred’s original book value of the pool only (shown in the Betfred accounts at £30 million at the start of the seven-year exclusivity period), but were outbid by the current owners, a financial syndicate which paid a multiple of times higher than that original pool book value.
The syndicate includes some leading racehorse owners and breeders, and the ROA has a small stake, but there is no formal representation for British racing within its governance structure, and like all private companies, its primary focus is to create returns for its investors.
Sha Tin: stages 11-race card on Sunday
The Hong Kong-led World Pool is an example of global co-operation between international jurisdictions
Credit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)
However, Britbet retained the rights to on-course pool betting at its owner courses, and the Tote had to agree to a commercial agreement with those courses, via Britbet, in order to retain the benefit of the on-course liquidity. It was also vital to the Tote to have an agreement in place to retain legitimacy with international pool operators, who are typically owned by their domestic sport. This allows racing jurisdictions around the world to co-operate, developing new products such as the World Pool (led by the Hong Kong Jockey Club) whose international partners are the pool operators authorised by the racing bodies in each country.
The Tote/Britbet deal has ensured British racing receives good value for the rights to racecourse liquidity (around £50m over the seven years of the deal) and has protected a key element of the international economics for racing.
In 2025, the current deal between the Britbet courses and the Tote comes up for renewal, and the courses are in a strong position to ensure that British racing continues to protect its pool betting interests, and perhaps even to strengthen its position.
At a time when British racing needs to do all it can to ensure it has a sustainable financial future, the separation with the Tote remains a potential weak spot, but also an opportunity. At previous times when the opportunity has arisen, racing has been outmanoeuvred, by bookmakers in the early 2000s when they successfully blocked a transfer to racing ownership, by Betfred in 2011, and by the current owners’ willingness to pay a significant premium for it in 2019.
For the 2025 renegotiation, the Tote may well try to reduce the amount it has to pay to the sport on the basis that it’s the only game in town. However, the racecourses are also able to play a strong hand, and it is in the sport’s best interests that they do so.
The Tote needs the racecourses on board because the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the prime mover behind the World Pool, needs to know that the British racecourses are part of the deal. Britbet keeps a competitive option open for racing to develop its own direct pool relationships, supported by the media groups (because pool betting needs pictures and data to deliver the most value).
One of the risks from the racing side is that of fragmentation, either between racecourses and the members of the Thoroughbred Group, or between different racecourse groupings, where large courses can sometimes be bought off with short-term gain (or threats) at the cost of the long-term good of the sport. Ironically, the need for pool betting to be integrated with British racing is one issue over which Arc and the Jockey Club have been aligned in recent years. By working together, they also open up the potential of investing in enabling technology for the on-course and global commingling systems.
British racing has had its greatest successes when it has been able to align its varied stakeholders behind the best interests of the sport, rather than those of individual vested interests. The upcoming discussions with the Tote will be the latest challenge to the sport to focus on the big picture, and not to be divided and ruled. It is also an opportunity for British racing to maintain its position at the top table of world racing where it belongs.
David Thorpe is a former chair of Arena Racing Company; Simon Bazalgette is a former chief executive of the Jockey Club. They are now colleagues at international consulting firm GVS EQ
Simon Bazalgette (left) and David Thorpe (right)
Simon Bazalgette (left) and David Thorpe (right)
The UK Tote was created in 1928 by Winston Churchill, a member of the Jockey Club, as the first licensed form of off-course betting in Britain. It was created with a specific mission to support British horseracing, but has never been owned or run by the sport. Its mission was lost when it was sold to privately owned UK fixed-odds operator Betfred in 2011.
Every few years, going back to the early 1960s, racing has had opportunities to bring the Tote closer to the racing fold, but has always been thwarted. Another opportunity may arise in the next couple of years – will it be grasped?
In the early years of this century, agreement in principle was reached with the government for ownership to be transferred to the sport, but this was successfully challenged by the bookmakers and eventually became a victim of the financial crash when it was nationalised by the Tories in 2011 and sold to Betfred.
A higher (but more complex) rival bid which had the support and involvement of the sport’s stakeholders was ruled out because the government needed to show a quick win for the public finances.
Betfred acquired the Tote because of their fixed-odds business and betting shop estate, which fitted well with their existing operations. Pool betting, with a seven-year exclusive licence, was only of secondary interest, but the government would not agree to separate out the pool's operation to benefit the sport.
Seven years later, in 2019, when the exclusive licence had expired, Betfred were open to selling the pool operations, even though the exclusive licence had expired.
British racecourses created Britbet as a vehicle to acquire the Tote from Betfred. Britbet was willing to pay a significant proportion of Betfred’s original book value of the pool only (shown in the Betfred accounts at £30 million at the start of the seven-year exclusivity period), but were outbid by the current owners, a financial syndicate which paid a multiple of times higher than that original pool book value.
The syndicate includes some leading racehorse owners and breeders, and the ROA has a small stake, but there is no formal representation for British racing within its governance structure, and like all private companies, its primary focus is to create returns for its investors.
Sha Tin: stages 11-race card on Sunday
The Hong Kong-led World Pool is an example of global co-operation between international jurisdictions
Credit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)
However, Britbet retained the rights to on-course pool betting at its owner courses, and the Tote had to agree to a commercial agreement with those courses, via Britbet, in order to retain the benefit of the on-course liquidity. It was also vital to the Tote to have an agreement in place to retain legitimacy with international pool operators, who are typically owned by their domestic sport. This allows racing jurisdictions around the world to co-operate, developing new products such as the World Pool (led by the Hong Kong Jockey Club) whose international partners are the pool operators authorised by the racing bodies in each country.
The Tote/Britbet deal has ensured British racing receives good value for the rights to racecourse liquidity (around £50m over the seven years of the deal) and has protected a key element of the international economics for racing.
In 2025, the current deal between the Britbet courses and the Tote comes up for renewal, and the courses are in a strong position to ensure that British racing continues to protect its pool betting interests, and perhaps even to strengthen its position.
At a time when British racing needs to do all it can to ensure it has a sustainable financial future, the separation with the Tote remains a potential weak spot, but also an opportunity. At previous times when the opportunity has arisen, racing has been outmanoeuvred, by bookmakers in the early 2000s when they successfully blocked a transfer to racing ownership, by Betfred in 2011, and by the current owners’ willingness to pay a significant premium for it in 2019.
For the 2025 renegotiation, the Tote may well try to reduce the amount it has to pay to the sport on the basis that it’s the only game in town. However, the racecourses are also able to play a strong hand, and it is in the sport’s best interests that they do so.
The Tote needs the racecourses on board because the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the prime mover behind the World Pool, needs to know that the British racecourses are part of the deal. Britbet keeps a competitive option open for racing to develop its own direct pool relationships, supported by the media groups (because pool betting needs pictures and data to deliver the most value).
One of the risks from the racing side is that of fragmentation, either between racecourses and the members of the Thoroughbred Group, or between different racecourse groupings, where large courses can sometimes be bought off with short-term gain (or threats) at the cost of the long-term good of the sport. Ironically, the need for pool betting to be integrated with British racing is one issue over which Arc and the Jockey Club have been aligned in recent years. By working together, they also open up the potential of investing in enabling technology for the on-course and global commingling systems.
British racing has had its greatest successes when it has been able to align its varied stakeholders behind the best interests of the sport, rather than those of individual vested interests. The upcoming discussions with the Tote will be the latest challenge to the sport to focus on the big picture, and not to be divided and ruled. It is also an opportunity for British racing to maintain its position at the top table of world racing where it belongs.
David Thorpe is a former chair of Arena Racing Company; Simon Bazalgette is a former chief executive of the Jockey Club. They are now colleagues at international consulting firm GVS EQ
The world pool is the future of everyday racing with larger pools and lots more interest including funding for racing, it’s quite simple really, headline making weekly pools, it’s the future that’s for sure wish I could buy some shares now as it’s coming it’s just a matter of time before racing wakes up as it needs a new future
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