I’LL say it because no-one else will.
Horse racing is about betting. It always has been and always will be.
The vast majority of racing fans watch racing because they enjoy betting
John McCririck’s coverage of horse racing betting was legendary
Well, at least until holier-than-thou MPs ban gambling for good. They will be coming for our booze next.
There has been a great debate in recent months about how to attract new racing fans and retain the interest of current ones.
There is a theory among those in positions of influence that educating people about horses and the personalities in the sport will, somehow, spark huge interest among the masses.
I hate to break it to you, but the vast majority of punters don’t care what a fetlock is or how many cigars Sir Mark Prescott smokes a day.
Of course, the sport is more interesting with great horses and great characters. You can put on as many music nights and food festivals as you like.
And it goes without saying, owners and breeders are of huge importance.
But if we woke up tomorrow and you could no longer bet on horse racing, millions of people would lose interest immediately and the sport would die on its arse.
Punters don’t tune in on a Saturday afternoon because they want to learn about pedigrees or a horse’s gait, but because they want to have a bet.
That’s not to say there aren’t people out there who find that stuff interesting. I do, for starters.
But 250,000 people aren’t packing out Cheltenham for four days in March purely because they enjoy the majestic sight of a racehorse in full flight.
They like to study the form, have an opinion and put their money where their mouth is. That is what makes racing so exciting for many and has done for centuries.
A large percentage of the sport’s participants and racing PR ‘gurus’ will try to tell you otherwise.
For example, the disastrous £1.6 million ‘Everyone’s Turf’ marketing campaign makes no mention of betting. These people can’t see the wood for the trees.
Racing and gambling are inextricably linked, and it feels like quality betting coverage is seriously lacking across most of the racing media.
Is it because gambling is seen as some sort of dirty word these days?
In general I think ITV Racing do a very good job, but their coverage of betting, as is also the case with Sky Sports and Racing TV, is left wanting.
Back in the day, Channel 4 Racing’s John McCririck and Tanya Stevenson were the gold standard of betting coverage. They were accurate, knowledgeable and brought great colour to our TV screens.
The same sort of attention to detail is no longer there, in my opinion.
I’m not asking for betting to be glamourised – I know better than anyone that promoting a message of responsible gambling is of the utmost importance.
So why not use the dead time between races, on every channel, to educate your viewers on how to gamble on horses safely and efficiently?
Explain different types of bet, monitor the exchanges, give advice on when a horse is value and when it isn’t. Try to make the viewer as well-informed and as well-rounded a punter as possible.
Tipster and broadcaster Tony Calvin has been very vocal during this debate.
He said: “Racing coverage needs to take betting seriously.
“Alongside owners, betting funds the sport. But throughout the week there is very little betting-focused content on any of the racing channels.
“All three broadcasters on Saturday would have an ideal platform to go in-depth into the betting aspect of the sport with a lot of free air time between races at Ascot.
“I have asked the question but never really been given an answer by anyone as to why betting has been demoted in importance.
“Maybe broadcasting teams have their hands tied because of the focus on responsible gambling, which of course is a very important message.
“But how does that stack up with tips and selections being thrown around like confetti during these broadcasts for every race?”
It does appear that TV execs are terrified of upsetting the wrong people in government and so have opted to water down their betting coverage.
But by not giving punters what they want the sport is taking an unnecessary gamble.
