Their motto is ‘Back To Bookmaking” and the new kids on the block took a step back to an era beloved of Yarmouth’s original founder Len Franklin, by returning to ‘opinion betting’ writes Floyd Amphlett.
Bresbet early price in purple
Yarmouth was built by former professional gambler Franklin, but much to the frustration of genuine punters, the betting industry has been heading further and further down the path of ‘risk free’ betting.
Manipulating the odds is the very essence of betting, but the gradual squeezing out of the on-course bookmaker by the exchanges, the introduction of algorithms to stymie the successful punter, and the manipulation of percentages by ‘industry odds’ are just three factors that have driven punters away.
When Bresbet issued their early prices for the first round of the East Anglian Derby on Wednesday morning, they agreed to take any bet to lose £250.
For any punter to has tried to have as little as £20 with one of the “big firms” and been offered something along the lines of ‘£4.70’, it is a game changer.
On Wednesday morning, Bresbet offered the punters a free swing by betting to a margin of roughly 22%.
Considering that the ‘industry returns’ managed a best of 18% that was literally a huge gamble.
(Bearing in mind that SP percentages only fully form as the last dogs are going into traps)
Because while the SP returns are based on weight of money, the early prices are inspired guesswork and not without risk.
The most interesting example was the fourth heat where a shrewd punter could – theoretically at last – have been betting to 93%.
So how did it go?
Former trainer Carl Perry headed the Bresbet trading team on Wednesday.
He said: “We had a very good night. There was a steady flow of business throughout the day. I had a few people questioning some of our prices but I said to all of them, ‘it’s up there if you fancy it. We went on our own on a few. We held onto King Bruno and laid a good few losers. One trainer told me his dog should have been 7-2 and we had it double figures so I invited him to take it which he did. Although we put the limit up, there were a lot of bets way bigger than the limit. Overall, we won on all six races.
“We have a clear vision of what we want to do. Everybody knows that the current system for early prices being offered on-line every morning are a joke. They are computer generated with false prices that nobody wants to lay.
“We expect to get taken on and get caught with one or two but that is the nature of what we want to do. We plan to be first up with prices for all the opens from now on.”
