Apart from festivals...will oncourse racing ever return to its glorious past?

[The Godfather]

Will it ever return?.....has the internet and exchanges taken over for good?

[Gingertipster]

Re: Apart from festivals...will oncourse racing ever return to its glorious past? Sadly no it won't Godfather. On course "bookmakers" are (with few exceptions) no longer bookmakers, they are traders. Offering odds that are a little less than betfair, then backing them on betfair to make a quick buck. They also have to pay more for the pitch, so have to get that back too. At the gaffs, where there are few bookies, the only way they can make a decent profit is to get more out of the few punters that turn out, offering shorter odds (bigger over-round). The big pro punters rarely go racing these days, just sitting at home in front of a computer screen. Exchanges aren't all bad news for the bookmakers punter, off course the early odds with bog has never been better.