Nick Rust, the chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said on Thursday that he “understands” the “pragmatic position” taken by York racecourse over its approach to bookmakers from offshore betting sites that do not make any contribution to racing.
From 1 January, the BHA will introduce “Approved Betting Partner” status for betting firms that agree to return a percentage of their gross profits to the sport. Both Jockey Club Racecourses and Arena Racing Company (ARC), the sport’s biggest racecourse operators, have agreed that they will not enter into new sponsorship deals with non-ABP firms, or renew existing deals. York, however, said on Wednesday that it could continue to renew existing deals with non-ABP sponsors, including BetFred, Sky Bet and Betway, though none of these are due for renewal before 2017.
“I had a very productive meeting with members of the York racecourse board on Tuesday and understand the pragmatic position that they have taken,” Rust said.
“York has confirmed its commitment to work with their current bookmaker sponsors to help British racing ensure it receives a return from all bets that are placed on the sport. We welcome their announcement that they won’t be signing any new sponsorship deals [with non-ABPs], nor renewing such existing deals in the short term.
“We will continue to assist York wherever we can in order to achieve our shared goal of signing up remote operators to ABP status through a commitment to a fair and reasonable contribution being made from bets accepted remotely on British racing.”
Yarmouth racecourse has suffered another setback as it attempts to restore a regular programme following problems with its racing surface, and will not re-open until June next year to allow further remedial work to take place. Six scheduled meetings in April and May will be moved to alternative venues as a result, while the course will also be inspected in May by the British Horseracing Authority before racing can resume.
Yarmouth, which is operated by ARC, was also forced to abandon its final two scheduled cards in 2015 after two jockeys were unseated following heavy rain at a valuable meeting in August.
“ARC is committed to ensuring each of our racecourses provides the best possible conditions for horses to race on,” Jon Pullin, ARC’s racing director, said on Thursday. “We are confident the extra time the track will now have will ensure an uninterrupted race season from June to October next year.”
The embarrassing fiasco that followed Speculative Bid’s run without his jockey in a valuable handicap at Ascot in July could finally conclude in Oxford on Friday morning when the racecourse bookmaker Geoff Banks sues the British Horseracing Authority for £250 in damages over the role of its employees in the incident.
Speculative Bid was the 4-1 favourite for the £150,000 Gigaset International Stakes, but left the stalls without Jamie Spencer, his jockey. He was declared a non-runner by the stewards, but only after the “weighed in” signal had been given, meaning that the result was final for betting purposes. Bookmakers were unable to make a 20p in the pound deduction from bets on the 7-1 winner Heaven’s Guest, while some punters were incorrectly refunded bets on Speculative Bid. The confusion was compounded 90 minutes later when it was announced that Speculative Bid had been deemed a runner.
Friday’s preliminary hearing will decide whether the case should be struck out before a full hearing. Banks will represent himself, while the BHA will be represented by Kate Gallafent QC from Blackstone Chambers, a leading specialist in cases which concern sport, professional discipline and regulation.
Irish Cavalier, one of the ante-post favourites for the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday, will take his place in the line-up after returning a clear blood test. Rebecca Curtis, Irish Cavalier’s trainer, has not saddled a runner since mid-November due to fears of a virus in the stable.
“His bloods have come back fine and he’ll run on Saturday,” Curtis said on Thursday. “We tested about 20 horses altogether and all the tests suggest they are coming back to normal, hopefully. The Romford Pele will go to Cheltenham on Friday and we’ll have a runner at Bangor, and we’ll see how they get on.”
