Bookmakers unappreciative of our industry says Haggas

William Haggas was fulsome in his praise of York racecourse at the 240th Gimcrack Dinner last night.

The Derby-winning handler saddled Approve to land the Gimcrack Stakes for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing at this summer's Ebor Festival and although it is customary for the winning owner to deliver the annual speech at York, Haggas was given the opportunity to voice his own thoughts by syndicate managing director Harry Herbert. He said: "Now, whether you believe racecourses' core customers are the players or the punters, it is vital that all of them prioritise the owners, who are the lifeblood of this industry.

"I appreciate that no one forces anyone to have a horse but it is vital that there are proper facilities on each racecourse. Indeed the facility here at York, if you haven't seen it already, improved dramatically when they refurbished the old Owners & Trainers bar last year. It is now extremely comfortable, spacious, warm and friendly and copes better with crowds."

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Haggas also used the dinner to urge the Government to take heed of a recent proposal from Levy Board Chairman Paul Lee for bookmakers to contribute more to the Levy, stating: "There is still some way to go for racing to be returned even a fair reward.

"The bookmakers, and by that I must stress 'the big three' because they are the prime movers in this, continue to convince us or attempt to convince us that racing's share is falling in the betting market.

"To try and halt this trend, racing decided to give the bookmakers exactly what they wanted so we are now awash with fixtures, most of which are grossly underfunded and extremely boring to both punter and racegoer alike. We now race most of the day, most of the night, where possible, every Sunday bar four and soon to be Good Friday, can you believe?

"Yet, our return is smaller than it has been for some time. So the more we give them, the less they give back.

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"We have been 'raped' for the last 50 years and it is no surprise to note that the four best financed racing associations in the world (Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and France) all have one thing in common – no off-course bookmakers. We have a fantastic industry – it is just a shame that the bookmakers do not seem to appreciate it. If they do want to join forces and proceed together, why don't they start by promoting racing more?"

Haggas also acknowledged the ever-increasing influence of Betfair, adding: "Betfair has been fantastic for the punter, but I wish somehow that we could find a way that they could contribute just a small percentage of their turnover back to the sport that brought them into the world. Their two founders, Andrew Black and Ed Wray, are racing people but now their company has been floated, there is no guarantee that the new board will want to be helping racing in any way, shape or form."

In his speech, Lee echoed Haggas's sentiments, revealing he hoped to "improve the appalling relationship that sometimes exists between betting and racing."

He said: "Racing has to work with betting because it is not going to go away. We need new ways of working together."