Festive flutters take a nosedive as reality bites
TOTE IRELAND say they remain confident about the future, despite an alarming drop in betting turnover over the high-profile Christmas meetings.
The traditional St Stephen's Day meetings in Leopardstown and Limerick saw spending at the Tote drop 20 per cent on last year.
In Leopardstown, the Tote aggregate pool was close on €442,000, down from over €533,000 in 2007. In Limerick, close to €172,000 was bet on the Tote, as against €222,810 12 months ago.
And yesterday's figures from both of the tracks continued the trend of dramatic decreases.
The meeting at Leopardstown is traditionally one of the biggest of the year, but betting on the Tote plummeted from €701,195 in 2007 to just over €551,000. Limerick's figures were equally stark, down from €191,644 to €137,412.
"We were holding up well until a couple of months ago," said Dryden Geary, Tote Ireland's marketing and PR manager. "The 20 per cent reduction on Friday is what we've been seeing recently.
"What we are noticing with the Tote is that we are getting the same volume of bets, but people are betting less money. Lads that would be putting €50 on a horse are now putting €20 on."
Moreover, the big property developers -- who tend to invite large numbers of associates to the races, many of whom will be betting on the Tote -- have become more frugal recently.
The Tote faces obvious competition from the betting exchanges, yet it recently teamed up with Betfair so that customers using the exchange giant can access Tote bets on the Betfair website.
"We don't see Betfair as a big threat to us, even though the average punter now has many more options than he had traditionally. Key to our future is growth in exotic bets such as the jackpot," said Mr Geary.
The Tote -- due to the nature of the business -- employs staff on an ad hoc basis, but it is not envisaged that the recent fall in turnover will result in a layoff of staff, as the volume of bets appears to be holding steady. Friday's attendance of 16,744 at Leopardstown, for example, was only 250 down on last year,
The decreases this festive period contrast sharply with year-on-year increases 12 months ago.
In 2007, the Tote's business increased by 23.5 per cent, and although figures for the first half of this year showed a small decline of 1 per cent, the final figure for 2008 will be much greater. On-course bookmakers suffered a sharp fall of 14 per cent for the first six months of the year.
Geary, however, believes that Irish racing will emerge strongly from the current economic difficulties. "We are very hopeful for the future -- particularly given the strength of racing here." He added that the Tote does not envisage a revision of its take from the betting pool, which is presently 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, there was an incredible finish to the valuable Paddy Power Handicap Chase as 33/1 chance Wheresben stormed to a noteworthy success for trainer Seamus Fahey and his amateur rider son James.
But not many would have bet against the Sam Thomas-ridden Osako D'Airy being anything other than the winner rounding the home turn. However, the Paul Nicholls-trained six-year-old tired dramatically after the last and finished outside the first five.
Three and a half lengths was the margin of victory for Wheresben over Vic Venturi, with Hoopy third and Notable D'Estruval fourth.
"He is a spring horse and doesn't usually start showing his form until this time of year," said Fahey senior.
"I was concerned the ground might have gone a bit quick for him but it has worked out well. I'm not sure where we will go next -- I am just glad today is over. I thought we had a hell of a lot to do down the back, but turning in I knew we would be placed."
Racing Special, Pages 9-11
- JOHNNY WARD
