ARC have banned on-course bookmakers from the contracted greyhound tracks with immediate effect and will rely on betting industry determined starting price returns.
Belle Vue bookmaker Simon Walmsley said: “I guess it was inevitable. If you are going to race behind closed doors, how can you justify having bookmakers on the track? Apart from anything else, it is extra people in the stadium.”
So is there a concern that this move will be revoked when racing returns to normal following the Coronavirus outbreak?
Walmsley said: “I can’t see why not. I think we provide a valuable service in terms of reflecting the true market. Government have certainly always been supportive of the role that we play.
“The most important thing is that greyhound racing isn’t closed dog because I have great concerns how easy it would be to bring it back.”
