Tote moves certain to be a winner
To guarantee punters get best odds and never have accounts closed is a major game changer
The bookmakers love to remind everyone that it is their prerogative to turn away punters if they do not like the “cut of their jib”. After all, they are not a social service. They are in the business of taking money, not handing it out to people better informed than them.
Sometimes, however, the messaging that emanates from the gambling sector can be more than a little confusing.
On the one hand there are people like my mother, who had a betting account closed the other day because her bets were too small; and presumably not worth bothering with. Obviously it would be terribly indiscreet to disclose whether she was an habitual winner, but the smart money says not.
On the other, there are endless stories of punters having their stakes limited or refused. Indeed, a tax accountant contacted me only last week with such a tale of woe.
When he is not pulling together tax returns, he is keen as mustard on betting on low grade handicaps. But Bet365, his bookmaker of choice, now limits him to £4 each-way on Saturday Class 2 handicaps and 83 pence if he wagers on Class 6 handicaps on the all-weather.
Why does he bother, you might ask yourself? Unfortunately, the answer is that he has two chronic illnesses that stop him getting out much, so betting is a welcome hobby. He did write to Denise Coates, the CEO of Bet365, to highlight his plight, but she had better things to do than reply.
Being a man of numbers, my correspondent’s main reason for dropping me a line was to point out that racing must be losing a significant amount of Levy if online bookmakers are turning away business such as his own.
All of which makes last week’s launch of the “Tote Guarantee” a real game changer for punters. The Tote will guarantee that all bets on winners will either be settled at the pool price, or the official starting price; whichever is bigger.
But just as important, it will take bets of up to £500 from anyone and it will not close any account unless that person looks like a problem gambler, who should not be betting at all.
The problem with the Tote in this country has always been the lack of liquidity in its pools. Assuming most punters are not betting in excess of £500 per bet, this guarantee can bring a lot of punters in from the cold. What probably will not, however, is its new logo.
We have all seen examples of media agencies making a complete mess of perfectly good logos; and I can hear a room full of creative types persuading Tote executives that the new logo needed to be “fresh, modern and reflect a digital era”; but this new look really takes the biscuit.
The most exciting aspect of the Cheltenham Festival for me is the emergence of new talent. Last year Bryony Frost and Rachael Blackmore stole the show. This year I am hoping it will be a young Englishman, of Irish descent, who captures the public imagination.
One could argue that I am behind the curve here because Jonjo O’neill Jnr has already ridden 98 winners, and was picked out by shrewd West Country trainer Colin Tizzard to partner Native River and Copperhead to big race victories in recent weeks.
But this might just be the beginning of a career in the saddle that could rival that of his famous father, who partnered Dawn Run to win the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup and was champion jockey twice.
Young O’neill had a few differences of opinion with Native River over the Newbury fences, but his victory on Copperhead in the Reynoldstown Novice Chase at Ascot, a race his father won 40 years earlier on subsequent Gold Cup winner Little Owl, was poetry in motion; almost effortless, if such a thing were possible in those tough conditions, until a blunder at the last. But even then, O’neill kept himself and the horse balanced, which is why they did not knuckle over. There is something about O’neill’s quiet, balanced style that makes me think horses just love to run for him.