General Chat

[Quevega]

I've got a face for radio anyway

That's not stopped everyone else !

[Bollinger]

Just as an aside here for anyone looking at the Sky requestabets ‘Ireland to have a 1,2,3’ in 3 races, 4 races and more etc - it’s very much worth noting that even with Ireland’s absolute dominance at the festival last year, they still only managed the “1,2,3” in just 4 races. Yes, and I was very surprised too.

The reason I bring it up is I made the initial enquiry, and the opening offer was 6/4, which I believed (before I actually looked at the evidence from last year….) was exceptional value, and put my money on accordingly.

So though that 6/4 is now 1/2, still be very aware that although the proliferation of very good Irish horses that look likely to place looks attractive, a UK horse still placed in 24 races last year.

[Markmightbite]

Can someone please tell me if, when placing a double/trixie etc, If a horse is not declared does that double turn into a single and trixie turn into a double ? With 365 preferably .. basically is the bet still live

[Imperial Commander]

Yes, exactly that - provided the bet on the non-runner was nrnb rather than on ante post terms.

[Anay Turge]

Can someone please tell me if, when placing a double/trixie etc, If a horse is not declared does that double turn into a single and trixie turn into a double ? With 365 preferably .. basically is the bet still live

If bets placed NRNB the selection will be void, and bet will still stand.

if placed as antepost, any leg with a horse not running will then be considered a loser. So doubles/trebles etc will be settled as lost, trixies/Yankees etc. will just have a leg that’s lost, and the remaining selections will remain open.

[BigChaang]

Reckon it would be worthwhile if I put together a brief post explaining the basics of the exchange, specifically in relation to the antepost markets?

I keep seeing lots of posts from people saying they don't really know what they're looking out for and at this time of year, it would be great to have as many eyes on the exchange antepost markets as possible to identify any significant movements before the bookies have time to react

Yes Please A.V.L . .

[Spectre]

That's not stopped everyone else !

[Mighty]

Seen that the BHA Chief Exec has done an interview with the RP for members club ultimate. Apologies, but as a non subscriber is anyone able to DM/email me a copy? Would find it quite useful for something related to work.

[punterorplonker]

I have been looking at the RP Cheltenham tours last few days. Skeltons was poor and he pretty much wanted to leave most to Aintree now. (trainer knows best) and again Hobbs today. Seems very weak and almost like British trainers have fully given up on Prestbury.

Henderson only really has the closest hand... Sad to see

[On The Fringe]

Seen that the BHA Chief Exec has done an interview with the RP for members club ultimate. Apologies, but as a non subscriber is anyone able to DM/email me a copy? Would find it quite useful for something related to work.

Here you go Mighty

INTERVIEWS JULIE HARRINGTON'It's imperative we get organised, otherwise we'll paralyse the sport'

Industry editor Bill Barber talks to the BHA chief executive


Julie Harrington: the BHA chief executive has no illusions about the challenges ahead
John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)
1 of 1
6:00PM, FEB 17 2022


Six months into her new role as BHA chief executive, Julie Harrington told the Racing Post last year she had realised the job would be difficult but even then had not envisaged just how tough it was going to be.

Harrington is now into her second year heading the governing body – and it would appear the job has got even tougher.

There are many reasons for that. The sport will continue to feel the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic for years, controversy dogs the BHA's regulatory actions, as in the Bryony Frost-Robbie Dunne case and row over jockeys' weights, and the government's gambling review is a looming danger to British racing's finances.

Most significantly, Harrington has yet another existential threat to deal with – the debate within the sport over the position of the BHA itself and whether it will continue to be its governing body or instead diminish into a smaller role.

The word 'pivotal' is one that Harrington, 52, uses a lot to describe 2022 and it is not difficult to see why. Discontent with British racing's tripartite governance system between the BHA and its members – racecourses and participants – had been growing for a while until matters came to a head following the last-minute breakdown in talks between Arena Racing Company and the Horsemen's Group over prize-money agreements.

That resulted in proposals being made to the BHA board in November under which racecourses and horsemen would gain a more dominant position over decision-making while pushing the BHA towards a predominantly regulatory role in the sport.

The BHA was already in the process of its own strategy and structures review but work on that cannot progress much further without its role being clarified.

"I think we've reached a point where we really need to resolve those discussions quickly because it will begin to hamper our ability to progress things for the sport," Harrington says.

"It has delayed things undoubtedly because it would be naive of me to push on with a different organisational structure for the BHA without some of those discussions being resolved. Some of the ideas being mooted, things like an independent regulatory body, would have had a big impact on how you structure the executive and below."

Harrington returned to racing having been chief executive at British Cycling, an organisation she joined at a time when its own reputation for good governance was in tatters.

"I took over at British Cycling when there were problems with the governance and I am trying to make sure racing doesn't make those mistakes," she says.

"Part of the issue with the governance at British Cycling was a lack of independent oversight and [too many] people who were at their very heart fans of the sport and passionate about it but probably too conflicted to make clear-headed, dispassionate decisions and that led to problems. That was an interesting lesson for me."

Harrington believes progress is being made but is protective of the BHA's leadership role. "Of course there are areas where stakeholders might want more control because it affects them commercially, but my view is the only body that can be empowered to take decisions for the long-term stewardship of the sport is the BHA," she says.

Harrington is adamant she knows what good governance looks like and that it is even more important in a sport that involves working with horses and has a close association with gambling.

"Governance isn't really complicated, a lot of it is what does your conscience tell you and does this feel right," she says. "I personally would have a problem with a change in governance that I felt was affecting my conscience, and our decision-making was in some way looking like those with a vested interest were the ones making the decision."

Nevertheless, the position of the BHA chief executive is one which bears a great deal of responsibility but not the same degree of power.

"I would say that's a really good way of describing it," she says. "You are often being asked to referee a situation rather than lead it and then everybody blames the referee."

She adds: "We absolutely need to resolve our discussions about how we effectively organise ourselves. I think it is imperative we resolve these discussions in 2022, otherwise we will paralyse the sport."

The issue of governance looks as if it will take some time to resolve. More pressing is the government's gambling review, which is expected to result in a white paper in the spring setting out proposals for reform.

The fear within British racing is that those proposals could have the unintended consequence of damaging British racing's finances, although gambling minister Chris Philp last week tried to reassure the sport that would not be the case.

The BHA has not been campaigning publicly over the gambling review but Harrington says it has not been sitting on its hands.

"A lot of lobbying is best not done through the media," she adds. "We are reaching the sharp end now of the white paper and, yes, we've had assurances that the minister is going to try to ensure that nothing in there has a negative impact for racing, which was really positive, but we are not complacent. We need to make sure that the officials know enough about the unintended consequences."

While being "incredibly supportive" of the review and its aim of preventing gambling-related harm, Harrington highlighted the danger of intrusive affordability checks.

"Putting off the casual punter is as much of a risk as driving people to the black market," she says. "Are we saying that casual punter is going to go and seek out the black market? No, if we just make it too much of a faff for them they will just go and do something else instead.

"We must ensure the officials have got the evidence base that they may not be meaning to do this but if we lose a proportion of these people who are just enjoying a bet on the racing as part of their leisure activity then that will have a knock-on effect on racing."



Michael Dugher: said racing faced "a clear and present danger" from the gambling review


Earlier this week Michael Dugher, the chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said racing faced a "clear and present danger" from the review and that "everyone in racing needs to get off their backside". They were comments Dugher and Harrington discussed subsequently.

"I was a little surprised by some of his comments because we have been working incredibly hard," Harrington adds. "Nobody is sat waiting for this to happen. I think everybody appreciates this is a serious risk for us. I suspect that was a call to arms from Michael when actually we are already in the trenches with him."

Harrington said activity around the gambling review would "ramp up" in the coming weeks, although "we will conduct our conversations with the minister in private".

One issue in dealing with government – and not only over the gambling review – has been the high turnover of ministers, Philp being the third Harrington has had to deal with in the last year.

Aside from the gambling review and the issue of levy reform, the BHA has been speaking to government about wider issues which the sport could support such as the 'levelling up' agenda.

"We just need to constantly remind people we are not just a gambling product, we are Britain's second biggest spectator sport," Harrington says. "The policy points that we can support for government are many and varied. The conversations we have had have gone down really well."

Last September Harrington called on the government to agree to an early review of the levy system to ensure the sport had a sustainable future. With the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport dealing not only with the gambling review but also the Online Safety Bill and the recovery of the culture sector after Covid, she admits that levy reform is not near the top of the department's to-do list, but she does say racing believes it has the evidence to prove the case for bringing reform forward.

"The minister was engaged and understood the evidence base," she adds. "He's incredibly analytical and, while this is a new brief to him, he grasped it really quickly, which is very encouraging.

"But he was open about the fact they have a lot on their plate. Once the white paper is out we'll continue those conversations and perhaps be able to look at the levy in the context of some of the proposals in the white paper."



Chris Philp: minister for gambling "incredibly analytical"



Figures quoted by Harrington last September that the sport's overall revenues may not return to growth until 2025 and that it faces a revenue shortfall of more than ?160 million up to 2024 from the levy not keeping up with inflation are among the "warning lights" racing faces.

Others have been weak attendance numbers, poor field sizes, concerns about Ireland's dominance in jumps racing and the loss of major owners in Sheikh Hamdan and Khalid Abdullah on the Flat at the same time as a drain of talented horses abroad.

"I'm thrilled the number of owners and horses in training have kept up but I don't want people thinking Covid's done now," Harrington says. "This is something we are going to be recovering from for some time.

"The whole point of everything that we have been working on in terms of our big strategic priorities is how we are going to organise ourselves to work in some of these areas and hit the challenges head on."

A recurring criticism of the BHA's role as regulator of the sport has been the length of time it takes disciplinary cases such as the one involving Frost and Dunne to come to a conclusion.

Harrington claims the complexity of cases and the BHA's lack of powers to compel people to give evidence will inevitably slow down matters but adds that case management is one of the areas being covered in the internal review, saying: "I do think there is an opportunity to streamline those processes and put more resources into getting some of those timescales down for the benefit of everybody."

There will also be delays in the introduction of new whip rules, which are not expected until the autumn due to the obstacles Covid-19 has placed in the way of the Whip Consultation Steering Group.

Harrington says: "It is going to be one of those decisions that is not going to please everybody – we know this from previous debate in this area – and so I would rather they spent the time getting it right than hitting a particular slightly abstract deadline."

Through these times, the BHA chief executive has perhaps not been as publicly visible a figure as her predecessor Nick Rust. However, she says: "I would say I have been keeping our stakeholders up to date and I do think we will be talking publicly in the next few months around our big priority areas.

"That is one of the reasons we need the governance sorted because you can't really speak confidently in public about that while it is still going on."

While those issues still have to be resolved, Harrington says the BHA has a three-to-five-year plan with the objective of securing the sport's financial future but also its continued relevance to the public. On top of that there is the day job of ensuring the integrity of around 1,500 fixtures.

"2022 is a pivotal year, making sure that we are organised to deliver for the sport in those three areas, managing external issues but also making sure we are building those foundations this year," she says.

"We've been remarkably resilient through one of the most challenging periods that every sport has faced. We have got challenging times ahead but I would say I'm confident we have the right people in place to make sure we're organised to meet those challenges."

[Mighty]

On The Fringe much appreciated, thank you!

[Another Value Loser]

https://promos.betfair.com/cheltenham-2022-offer

Looks like the betfair cheltenham offer is back. This time only ?10 per week (the free bet "pot" was larger last year, if I recall correctly)

I believe it only applies to accounts who have selected the "rewards" package so if you're like me and on the "basic" package (2% commission) you won't be eligible

[FinalFurlong91]

https://promos.betfair.com/cheltenham-2022-offer

Looks like the betfair cheltenham offer is back. This time only ?10 per week (the free bet "pot" was larger last year, if I recall correctly)

I believe it only applies to accounts who have selected the "rewards" package so if you're like me and on the "basic" package (2% commission) you won't be eligible

I think last year it was done over 5 weeks to build up a ?50 pot

I changed my package last month anticipating it, not as good an offer but il be having the bets anyway so free bets for nothing extra

[punterorplonker]

Hey hey
So this is where I typically post a new thread asking what the next important dates are leading up to the big week.

Can someone post the next milestones including weights decs etc etc.

[Atlantic Viking]

Any chance we could have a thread explaining the basics of the exchanges?