Horse Racing in Britain
Bookmakers, although they contribute to the colorfulness of racing as a whole, particularly in Britain, might be regarded as an expensive anachronism.
Britain is now the only major racing country in the world not working towards a tote monopoly.
Money is ploughed back into the industry via the Horserace Betting Levy Board, which since 1968 has exacted a levy on bookmakers (and the toe) based on their turnover.
Between 1961, when the government taxed betting, the levy was based on bookmakers' profits.
The money put back into racing in those years was considerably less than the sum French racing received from the pari-mutuel, with the result that France became the center of the European racing.
From the gambler's point of view, there is a big difference between betting with the tote, or pari-mutuel, and with the bookmaker.
The tote is a pool into which all stakes are placed. After deductions, i.e., expenses, tax, etc., there is a sum left which is all divided among the winners.
In practice, there is more than one pool on each race: there may be, for instance, win, place, and forecast pools; in America, there may be win, place, and show pools.
Consequently, when making their bets, gamblers do not know how much to expect if they win, since the total pool is being increased right up to the time of the race, as is the number of tickets on each horse.
At race meetings, 'approximate odds' boards are displayed, but of course the odds fluctuate as the betting continues.
There are two principal ways to bet with bookmakers.
If the gambler is betting ante-post (i.e., striking a bet about a future race) or on the course, he will accept an agreed price and will be paid out accordingly if he wins.
For instance, if 20-1 is accepted about a winner, that is what the gambler will be paid irrespective of whether the odds change subsequently.
The official starting price is determined by a small group of men at the course who take the average of the bookmakers' prices being offered at the 'off'.
Considering the amount of money at stake, this method seems haphazard and obviously open to corruption.
It is astonishing, and says a good deal for the integrity of the men involved, that thousands of starting prices are returned each year and accepted without question.
Let us look first on the bets which are available on the tote. Bets on tote are made not on the horse's name, but on its number on the race card.
In Britain, every horse can be backed to win on the tote, irrespective of the number of runners. There is no place betting with five or fewer runners. If there are six or seven runners, a horse can be backed for a place, which means it must finish first or second.
The place bet is a separate transaction to the win bet: a bettor backing a horse for win and place will receive two tickets. Both tickets can be bought at the same tote window, but windows vary according to the amount to be staked.
The units are 10p, which is the minimum stake and the stake to which dividends are declared.
If there are eight or more runners, a horse needs to finish in the first three to obtain a place.
