What does it all mean? Really? Now and going forward?

The battle to control the greyhound input into the betting shops between SIS and ARC takes at least one new twist every week.

If I had a pound for every time I have been asked for an opinion, I would probably have as much as GBGB have already paid Tom Kelly for (not) delivering the bookmaker’s offshore cash.

How the bookies must be giggling.

I digress.

There is insufficient space to recount every manoeuvre to date in this unfolding saga– so here is the briefest of reviews for new readers.

Coral-Ladbrokes are backing SIS (who provide pictures and commentaries to the betting shops) in their plan to replace BAGS with their own greyhound package. Coral-Ladbrokes will probably be joined by Betfred who are also joint owners of SIS.

Offering an alternate service are ARC, a company who own a number of small racecourses. They are still being snubbed by the big firms who won’t pay for their service and were taken to court for trying to use it without paying.

To compete with SIS, ARC needed greyhound racing for a complete package and recently reached agreement to buy Sunderland and Newcastle . They have also signed a deal with the 11 track consortium known as GMG.

Everybody knows that the only way to make money is to be the sole provider of the near 10,000 betting shops of which around 45% are controlled by Coral-Ladbrokes and Betfred.

Everybody is also aware that the majority of independent bookmakers will only want to pay for one greyhound service but will be offered two from January.

 

It was clear to anybody who understands the industry that there are insufficient trainers and greyhounds, in that order, to provide two complete greyhound services, particularly since some of the tracks are also supplying RPGTV.

Within the last fortnight, SIS and their backers showed they were gearing up to produce their service by bringing in the likes of Henlow and Central Park as part of their ‘BAGS’ service. Harlow, Doncaster and Mildenhall are being sounded out too.

(This caused some eye-rolling among the GMG tracks who had held talks with SIS and were astonished at the incredible integrity related penalty clauses for such events as gambling coups and betting show – of which they had no control. The ‘would be’ SIS contracts were far tougher than their BAGS equivalents. Yet it was the big firms who had historically objected most vociferously to the smaller tracks like Henlow from getting BAGS contracts on perceived integrity grounds.)

Clearly, the new SIS tracks will need an influx of dogs, particularly at the new venues who have long struggled for runners. Most winters, Henlow, as an example, are reduced to four and five runner races on their non-RPGTV fixtures. Mildenhall manage one ten-race card per week.

In addition, the four bookmaker owned tracks would have expected to increase their own schedules by at least a meeting a week each.

Prior to the formation of GMG, neither would have been a problem but the eleven also anticipated the tactic and signed up the vast majority of their bigger trainers to exclusive 18 month contracts.

(The way I understand it, the whole process was carried out like a military operation virtually on the same day across all the GMG tracks.)

Monmore would still appear the best placed, geographically, to expand their fixture list though Sheffield and Nottingham have their top handlers all signed up. Most of the others seem pretty solid too.

But then – how do the likes of Hove draw their extra runners from when the likeliest sources such as Central Park and Crayford are in the same SIS camp?

Towcester are still to commit to either side. But they have an impressive racing portfolio and massive kennel strength. They might just be pivotal.

Who is funding it all?

Clearly the two main players behind the scenes, SIS and ARC.

I picture two heavyweight poker players simultaneously shovelling gold into the centre of the table waiting for the other to crack.

 

So – that is where we are. But where are we going? To date, everything reported has been largely verifiable, but we must venture deeper into the speculative.

TV and major events

As things stand, next year’s SKY meetings and Track Championships look in grave danger. Basically, they are funded by BAGS who are set to lose somewhere near 50% of their income.

However, nobody really knows what will happen and it may not be the Doomsday scenario.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the feature events will inevitably attract the best dogs and betting. A selling point to the shops.

ARC have a wonderful vehicle for broadcasting with the Attheraces channel. SIS options would probably go to Racing UK though there are various other options including the new SKY Arena channels.

Okay – a main SKY sports channel may be preferable, but not even the movers and shakers are keen to predict a fixture list beyond next year.

 

Governance and regulation

Other changes seem likely too. For example, I would predict a significant scaling back and reduced funding for GBGB, a flawed organisation since its outset.

It will continue to regulate well and usually efficiently (see below), but it really is a non-entity in terms of taking the industry forward commercially.

The power has always, and will always, lie with the promoters, with most of the key players in the GMG camp. The bookmakers, as track owners, have never been able to, or chosen to, engage. The Board has undoubtedly benefitted from the addition of fine owner and trainer representatives.

Would the bookmakers set-up their own breakaway organisation?

Possible – but dangerous, given the legislation connecting the Animal Welfare Bill and the GBGB accreditation. They could revert to local authority control, but that would give the ‘antis’ all their Christmases at once.

More likely, they will continue to operate under the Rules of Racing and in accordance with welfare legislation, but commercially they will continue to do their own thing.

I am expecting an announcement regarding the next CEO imminently – and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it is an internal appointment.

 

What does it mean for the grass roots?

For years I have predicted that one day there would be a runner shortage and it would be the only thing that would improve conditions for owners and trainers. I hoped to be in the industry long enough to see it happen.

It has – and it isn’t going away. There will be a greyhound shortage for years to come. The trainer shortage, given average ages, is even more critical.

If the tracks and bookies want greyhounds for racing, plus the owners and trainers to help finance them and alleviate their welfare issues, they will need to implement a whole series of measures to engage all parties.

That will include improved prize money, financial assistance for veterinary and retirement issues and of course, a solid open race calendar.

It is true that betting shop punters largely, aren’t too concerned with quality, but this is a ‘bigger picture’ issue. Nobody ever bred or bought a greyhound to be mediocre. If you want to see the continuation of the bigger industry, you have to encourage its sport element that is fed by passion and not profit.

This isn’t about ‘fairness’ or ‘doing the right thing’. The promoters (and their accountants) and betting industry (and their accountants) don’t understand ‘fairness’. This is about good business and investment in the future.

If new programmes were put in place to increase the number of greyhound born, people prepared to own them, and others to train them, it would take three to five years to start to reverse the embedded trends.

 

Even longer term?

Moving on from informed speculation to ‘wonder ifs’ and a series of questions.

– Where will the betting industry be in five years time?

– How many FOBT machines will there be in betting shops? (The all-party review concluded in January and Government response must be any day now).

– How many betting shops will there be and what percentage of betting will be on-line?

– What percentage will be on greyhounds?

– Will BAGS still be around after December 2018?

– Will the tracks deal with the bookies directly, or as a group (GMG)?

– How much betting will be with bookies and how much into the tracks’ own co-mingled totes?

– How much international business will there be for those totes?

– How many tracks will be sold off for housing?

– How long before the bookies decide to buy the remaining tracks and not the pictures, and become self-sufficient?

I must admit to being a little bewildered by the Gambling Commission’s decision that integrity had not been affected when BAGS ordered Sittingbourne to withdraw a dog from a race because of “unusual betting patterns”.

In the first instance, I don’t blame the track. Tell BAGS to p*ss off and it could cost you hundreds ofn thousands of pounds and potential closure. In general, BAGS has improved dramatically since its days if tyrant rule. But somebody clearly cocked up. The Gambling Commission claim a promise that it will never happen again. Not good enough!

As for GBGB, what would happen if a trainer were to do something similar? BAGS ordered the move because the bookies were about to lose a shedload of money of tricast doubles and trebles. Unless, criminal action had been found – suck it up boys!

If a trainer was to walk off the track with his dog because he couldn’t get his money on, he might as well burn his licence.

Integrity had absolutely been affected and the Gambling Commission and GBGB simply bottled it!

There has been a lot written about a brilliant first Star Sports English Derby from Towcester and I had no plans to continue it. However, the following quote is from a man I like and respect in equal measure. John Mullins is from a fabulous dynasty of greyhound trainers and breeders. As a person, John is reserved, thoughtful and shrewd.

He said: “I wasn’t quite sure what I would make of Towcester. I’d heard a few people moaning about the place but decided to make my own mind up. It was just fantastic.

“After the Derby, I sat down and thought, ‘that is the best Derby Final I have ever been to.’ I thought about it a bit longer and thought ‘that is actually the best greyhound meeting I have ever been to’

“In fact, I found it quite hard to adjust for a few days afterwards and didn’t really want to go racing anywhere else. It took a few days and I got over it, but that was how big an impression it made on me.”