On-course bookmakers warned over price fixing

SUSPICIONS that starting prices at British race meetings are being fixed in order to save the betting industry thousands of pounds per race emerged on Friday in an extraordinary warning letter to on-course bookmakers written by management at Wolverhampton.

The shock claim was made in a letter to all Wolverhampton pitch holders from David Roberts, managing director at the all-weather venue, amid concerns they may have been in breach of a rule which resulted in "distorting artificially the betting market or starting price".

In his letter, Roberts said: "The racecourse has recently become aware that some bookmakers may be in danger of contravening [the] requirement by laying off-course hedging money at starting price rather than the prevailing fixed odds price at the time the bet was struck."

If an on-course bookmaker was to lay a big firm hedging into the ring at starting price as opposed to the show at the time, this would result in the layer saving money should the horse win. More importantly, in betting markets with few bookmakers, the firm hedging are aware that the starting price is very likely to be notably lower than the show at the time.

Roberts refused to confirm or deny whether he or any of his staff had witnessed the process happening, but revealingly his letter said: "We have observed the impact of the this practice in the betting ring and it is the racecourse's view that such behaviour invites accusations of price fixing and collusion which, consequently, may jeopardise the racecourse's premises licence and compromise the integrity of the betting ring."