Big Freeze Affects Racing Income
15th January, 2010
The big freeze Britain has been experiencing in the last few weeks has had a catastrophic effect on British horseracing as more than half of races have been abandoned according to eGaming Review
54 of the country’s 105 racing fixtures have been cancelled with the rate increasing. December saw 18 abandonments including races due to be held at Ascot and Haydock Park. January so far has seen 36 out of 50 cancellations including a major event at Sandown Park.
“All turf and even some all-weather racing has been abandoned,” said Racecourse Owners Association chief executive Michael Harris. He warned that the cancellations could pose a long-lasting threat to the industry, as “there is a danger that bettors might develop a habit of betting on other products and not come back to racing when the cold is all over. The whole industry is concerned.”
Levies paid by bookmakers make up 60% of the sport’s funding. The Levy Board has warned that lost levies for cancelled races with cost the sport £10,000 per race.
The Race Course Association’s Racing Executive, Tim Jones has said that the RCA, British racing Association and the Levy Board are in ‘constant’ contact so they can arrange replacement fixtures at all weather tracks, “but there is a limit to the number of additional fixtures that can be put on. Racing has been hit hard, and if we can’t provide the betting fraternity with events that they can bet on, we can’t ensure that the levy isn’t lost,” he said.
Tony Calvin a spokesman for Betfair confirmed that the cancellations had affected income, “Racing turnover has obviously been hit hard, and there is clearly very little we can do to address the downturn in this area. We do put up ‘Will Racing Go Ahead?’ markets for meetings where inspections are planned, but in truth these are primarily PR vehicles.”
Ciaran O’Brien, a spokesman for Ladbrokes, said that they have also been affected and the abandonments have forced the company to direct punters to other markets. O’Brien said: “We have been impacted [and] we have been proactively managing our products in response to the cancellations. In terms of football we have added significantly more markets to lesser matches and upgraded our in-play offering, for example.”
By Faye
