Hopefully racecourses will still see the value of cash!
DO you prefer cash or card?
While observing the betting ring at a modest midweek meeting the other day, I noticed that every transaction was with cash. Nobody used a debit card. Admittedly, these were punters staking up to £20. The only bigger wad of notes I saw was one bookie laying off with another.
As one bookmaker told me: “Cash is faster. We can take money and pay it out quickly.” Cards are a drawback if refunds are necessary, e.g. if there is a Rule 4; they take time to process, during which the bookie cannot take other bets. Card winnings may not appear in the punter’s bank account straight away. Similarly, the bookie’s takings won’t appear in his account immediately.
He added that racecourses announcing in advance that they are ‘card only’ meetings are a nuisance, as they may deter or confuse punters. Rest assured that regardless of such announcements, racecourse bookmakers continue to be very happy to take cash. Without wishing to glorify gambling, there is great satisfaction of picking a winner and having your good judgement rewarded by being paid in cash.
Many mobile caterers now take payments using those little white card readers about the size of a wallet. More and more are card only, some take cards and cash and, occasionally, you find some that are cash only.
It is not unknown for the wireless signals at remoter courses to be erratic or for the machinery to go wrong, in which case cash comes into its own. The message is to go racing with both cash and a debit card.
At Goodwood recently, racegoers arriving at the turnstiles wanting to pay cash to enter were thwarted because of ‘card only’. Not everyone has internet access or will be checking this sort of restriction. I know of one case where a stranger kindly paid using his card on behalf of a lady who arrived at the entrance with cash only. She then paid him the necessary sum.
The man in question had failed to get into the Richmond Enclosure (£36) because he didn’t have a jacket and tie, and was wearing shorts. He had to walk ten minutes on the roadside grass verges round the perimeter of the enclosure – with a pushchair – to get to the Gordon Enclosure entrance (£26), where casual dress was permitted. By then he was entitled to be disgruntled, and deserved particular credit for his kindness towards the other racegoer.
Regardless of his attire, he was a gentleman.
Goodwood, York and Haydock provide big-course action tomorrow. The six-furlong Sandy Lane Stakes at the latter gives us a chance to see which three-year-olds can go to the top of the sprinting tree this year. Karl Burke’s El Caballo has been cleaning up on the all-weather and Go Bears Go is consistent. There’s little between them in the betting, and they are both about 10/1 for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. At slightly longer odds, Clive Cox runs Caturra and Wings of War. Caturra, with Cox’s old ally Adam Kirby on board, is the each way value in what should be a very informative race.
The Temple Stakes, over the minimum trip, is primarily for older horses but it is interesting that Karl Burke has entered a couple of threeyear-olds in this race rather than keep them to their own age group. Five furlongs is ideal for his Last Crusader – and given good or fast going he is one to keep an eye on.