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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 20, 2017 20:00:13 GMT
Ladbrokes Coral agree deal to take TRP betting shop service... It is testament to the symbiotic nature of racing and betting that we have been able to agree a deal based on sound commercial principles.... The commercial stand-off between racecourse group Arena Racing Company (Arc) and bookmaking giant Ladbrokes Coral that led to a blackout of some race meetings in thousands of betting shops is over.
A media rights deal, believed to be for five years, for betting shop channel The Racing Partnership (TRP) was agreed between the two sides on Thursday, which means action from all Britain's courses will be shown again in the Ladbrokes Coral's retail estate of 3,820 betting shops.
Arc chief executive Martin Cruddace said: "We are delighted to have agreed this deal with Ladbrokes Coral. "It is testament to the symbiotic nature of racing and betting that we have been able to agree a deal based on sound commercial principles for both parties. I'm very grateful for the patience and support of my shareholders.
"We look forward to working with everyone at Ladbrokes Coral as we move into a new era of collaboration and co-operation." TRP said the deal is a first of its kind, being based purely on a profit-shared model.
Ladbrokes Coral chief executive Jim Mullen, said: "We are pleased to have struck a deal with The Racing Partnership that gives us a joint incentive to grow the sport.
"Horseracing is part of our heritage and despite the vast choice of sports to bet on in the modern era it remains a core product for our business, so it's a positive development that once again all our customers, in shops and online, can enjoy a full range of horseracing action."
From the start of the year six Arena Racing Company courses –Doncaster, Lingfield, Southwell, Windsor, Worcester and Wolverhampton – switched from SIS to new channel TRP, followed from May 1 by Fakenham, Hexham, Towcester.
A further 13 courses are set to join the service from the start of 2018, including Chepstow, Newcastle and Uttoxeter.
William Hill and Paddy Power signed up to the new channel but Betfred and Ladbrokes Coral did not, meaning their customers were faced with blank screens when the racecourses involved were in action.
The firms involved sought other ways of providing a service to their customers, including off-tube commentaries, and tensions rose when TRP issued legal proceedings against them over claims the firms were misusing their data, as well as over the commentaries. Ladbrokes were ordered to close all their betting shops on the six Arc tracks involved as part of the dispute, while Ladbrokes and Coral were also informed they were no longer licensed to provide online streaming of races from Arc tracks.
The stand-off has had a financial impact on both sides.
It was estimated Arena Racing Company would be hit to the tune of £16 million in lost media rights fees if 2017 passed without deals being done with the bookmakers.
However, it had the backing of its billionaire owners the Reuben Brothers, which gave it the resources to hold out for a resolution. And while Ladbrokes Coral said not having the service was actually proving to be a positive in terms of the savings from media rights payments, the fall in their over-the-counter business accelerated.
Further pressure on the bookmakers came in May when Arc swooped to buy Newcastle and Sunderland greyhound stadiums from bookmakers William Hill, who had previously agreed a deal with rival service SIS in February.
Arc also joined Greyhound Media Group (GMG), which was responsible for 70 per cent of greyhound fixtures shown in betting shops through the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (Bags), which has subsequently ended its distribution deal with SIS.
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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 20, 2017 21:36:05 GMT
TAKEN FROM THE GREYHOUND STAR WEBSITE
EDITORS CHAIR: MEDIA CONTROL FOR DUMMIES.
What does it all mean? Really? Now and going forward?
The battle to control the greyhound input into the betting shops between SIS and ARC takes at least one new twist every week. If I had a pound for every time I have been asked for an opinion, I would probably have as much as GBGB have already paid Tom Kelly for (not) delivering the bookmaker’s offshore cash. How the bookies must be giggling.
I digress.
There is insufficient space to recount every manoeuvre to date in this unfolding saga– so here is the briefest of reviews for new readers.
Coral-Ladbrokes are backing SIS (who provide pictures and commentaries to the betting shops) in their plan to replace BAGS with their own greyhound package. Coral-Ladbrokes will probably be joined by Betfred who are also joint owners of SIS.
Offering an alternate service are ARC, a company who own a number of small racecourses. They are still being snubbed by the big firms who won’t pay for their service and were taken to court for trying to use it without paying.
To compete with SIS, ARC needed greyhound racing for a complete package and recently reached agreement to buy Sunderland and Newcastle . They have also signed a deal with the 11 track consortium known as GMG.
Everybody knows that the only way to make money is to be the sole provider of the near 10,000 betting shops of which around 45% are controlled by Coral-Ladbrokes and Betfred.
Everybody is also aware that the majority of independent bookmakers will only want to pay for one greyhound service but will be offered two from January. It was clear to anybody who understands the industry that there are insufficient trainers and greyhounds, in that order, to provide two complete greyhound services, particularly since some of the tracks are also supplying RPGTV.
Within the last fortnight, SIS and their backers showed they were gearing up to produce their service by bringing in the likes of Henlow and Central Park as part of their ‘BAGS’ service. Harlow, Doncaster and Mildenhall are being sounded out too.
(This caused some eye-rolling among the GMG tracks who had held talks with SIS and were astonished at the incredible integrity related penalty clauses for such events as gambling coups and betting show – of which they had no control. The ‘would be’ SIS contracts were far tougher than their BAGS equivalents.
Yet it was the big firms who had historically objected most vociferously to the smaller tracks like Henlow from getting BAGS contracts on perceived integrity grounds.)
Clearly, the new SIS tracks will need an influx of dogs, particularly at the new venues who have long struggled for runners. Most winters, Henlow, as an example, are reduced to four and five runner races on their non-RPGTV fixtures. Mildenhall manage one ten-race card per week.
In addition, the four bookmaker owned tracks would have expected to increase their own schedules by at least a meeting a week each.
Prior to the formation of GMG, neither would have been a problem but the eleven also anticipated the tactic and signed up the vast majority of their bigger trainers to exclusive 18 month contracts.
(The way I understand it, the whole process was carried out like a military operation virtually on the same day across all the GMG tracks.)
Monmore would still appear the best placed, geographically, to expand their fixture list though Sheffield and Nottingham have their top handlers all signed up. Most of the others seem pretty solid too.
But then – how do the likes of Hove draw their extra runners from when the likeliest sources such as Central Park and Crayford are in the same SIS camp?
Towcester are still to commit to either side. But they have an impressive racing portfolio and massive kennel strength. They might just be pivotal.
Who is funding it all?
Clearly the two main players behind the scenes, SIS and ARC.
I picture two heavyweight poker players simultaneously shovelling gold into the centre of the table waiting for the other to crack. So – that is where we are. But where are we going? To date, everything reported has been largely verifiable, but we must venture deeper into the speculative.
TV and major events
As things stand, next year’s SKY meetings and Track Championships look in grave danger. Basically, they are funded by BAGS who are set to lose somewhere near 50% of their income.
However, nobody really knows what will happen and it may not be the Doomsday scenario.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the feature events will inevitably attract the best dogs and betting. A selling point to the shops.
ARC have a wonderful vehicle for broadcasting with the Attheraces channel. SIS options would probably go to Racing UK though there are various other options including the new SKY Arena channels.
Okay – a main SKY sports channel may be preferable, but not even the movers and shakers are keen to predict a fixture list beyond next year.
Governance and regulation
Other changes seem likely too. For example, I would predict a significant scaling back and reduced funding for GBGB, a flawed organisation since its outset.
It will continue to regulate well and usually efficiently (see below), but it really is a non-entity in terms of taking the industry forward commercially.
The power has always, and will always, lie with the promoters, with most of the key players in the GMG camp. The bookmakers, as track owners, have never been able to, or chosen to, engage. The Board has undoubtedly benefitted from the addition of fine owner and trainer representatives.
Would the bookmakers set-up their own breakaway organisation?
Possible – but dangerous, given the legislation connecting the Animal Welfare Bill and the GBGB accreditation. They could revert to local authority control, but that would give the ‘antis’ all their Christmases at once.
More likely, they will continue to operate under the Rules of Racing and in accordance with welfare legislation, but commercially they will continue to do their own thing.
I am expecting an announcement regarding the next CEO imminently – and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it is an internal appointment. What does it mean for the grass roots?
For years I have predicted that one day there would be a runner shortage and it would be the only thing that would improve conditions for owners and trainers. I hoped to be in the industry long enough to see it happen.
It has – and it isn’t going away. There will be a greyhound shortage for years to come. The trainer shortage, given average ages, is even more critical.
If the tracks and bookies want greyhounds for racing, plus the owners and trainers to help finance them and alleviate their welfare issues, they will need to implement a whole series of measures to engage all parties.
That will include improved prize money, financial assistance for veterinary and retirement issues and of course, a solid open race calendar.
It is true that betting shop punters largely, aren’t too concerned with quality, but this is a ‘bigger picture’ issue. Nobody ever bred or bought a greyhound to be mediocre. If you want to see the continuation of the bigger industry, you have to encourage its sport element that is fed by passion and not profit.
This isn’t about ‘fairness’ or ‘doing the right thing’. The promoters (and their accountants) and betting industry (and their accountants) don’t understand ‘fairness’. This is about good business and investment in the future.
If new programmes were put in place to increase the number of greyhound born, people prepared to own them, and others to train them, it would take three to five years to start to reverse the embedded trends. Even longer term?
Moving on from informed speculation to ‘wonder ifs’ and a series of questions.
– Where will the betting industry be in five years time?
– How many FOBT machines will there be in betting shops? (The all-party review concluded in January and Government response must be any day now).
– How many betting shops will there be and what percentage of betting will be on-line?
– What percentage will be on greyhounds? – Will BAGS still be around after December 2018? – Will the tracks deal with the bookies directly, or as a group (GMG)? – How much betting will be with bookies and how much into the tracks’ own co-mingled totes? – How much international business will there be for those totes? – How many tracks will be sold off for housing? – How long before the bookies decide to buy the remaining tracks and not the pictures, and become self-sufficient?
I must admit to being a little bewildered by the Gambling Commission’s decision that integrity had not been affected when BAGS ordered Sittingbourne to withdraw a dog from a race because of “unusual betting patterns” . In the first instance, I don’t blame the track. Tell BAGS to p*ss off and it could cost you hundreds ofn thousands of pounds and potential closure. In general, BAGS has improved dramatically since its days if tyrant rule. But somebody clearly cocked up. The Gambling Commission claim a promise that it will never happen again. Not good enough!
As for GBGB, what would happen if a trainer were to do something similar? BAGS ordered the move because the bookies were about to lose a shedload of money of tricast doubles and trebles. Unless, criminal action had been found – suck it up boys! If a trainer was to walk off the track with his dog because he couldn’t get his money on, he might as well burn his licence. Integrity had absolutely been affected and the Gambling Commission and GBGB simply bottled it!
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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 21, 2017 8:17:02 GMT
THE PICTURE IS BECOMING A WHOLE LOT CLEARER BY THE HOUR...
AT THE END OF THE DAY I HOPE THE WINNER IS GREYHOUND RACING UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY...
BUT LIKE ALL 'WARS THERE WILL BE WINNERS AND LOSERS ALONG THE WAY AND SOME TRACKS STILL MIGHT GO UNDER OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS...
HERE'S HOPING THE 'ZOO' ONCE CALLED THE NORTH'S LEADING PREMIER GREYHOUND TRACK STICKS AROUND FOR A FEW MORE YEARS YET....
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Jul 22, 2017 12:40:08 GMT
TAKEN FROM TODAY'S RACING POST
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2017 14:30:40 GMT
incidentally, I won't see a penny of the bonus for me personally. however, that doesn't change a thing, when ever did the bv personnel stick together, iv been there for a good few years now and I have never known it. BV is one of the only places that the trainers/owners have never stuck together [as you call it] we have a representative who has never done anything for anyone other than themselves, it's easy to blame someone any one if it suits.and owners are notorious for self-centered dealing .usually. I don't know if its a good or bad deal and the powers at bv don't give money away willy nilly. if there is a proposed new deal then nobody knew or was aware of one.and until I see a new deal then its business as usual.[famous phrase.]from you know who. Hi mate hope your keeping well,just looked on the trainer stats and it shows you have not had a runner away from belle vue this year so it wont matter to yourself,but there are trainers at some tracks and more in particular their owners that are not happy with these contracts,fact is some will be bullied into signing,there is certainly a media battle going on at present,and the shortages of greyhounds mean their will be casualties.
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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 24, 2017 10:08:17 GMT
TAKEN FROM THE RACING POST MONDAY 24/7/17
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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 24, 2017 10:09:29 GMT
COME ON GRA
IT'S TIME TO COUGH UP AND START PAYING THE GOING RATE...
YOU HAVE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER FOR YEARS IT'S TIME TO PAY PAY PAY....
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Post by BVADMIN on Jul 25, 2017 8:33:35 GMT
TAKEN FROM THE RACING POST - TUESDAY 25/7/17
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Post by benny on Jul 25, 2017 10:36:18 GMT
this is the full transcript of what I thought was a private message. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jul 22, 2017 at 6:01pm QuoteMessage Options Hi mate hope your keeping well,just looked on the trainer stats and it shows you have not had a runner away from belle vue this year so it wont matter to yourself,but there are trainers at some tracks and more in particular their owners that are not happy with these contracts,fact is some will be bullied into signing,there is certainly a media battle going on at present,and the shortages of greyhounds mean their will be casualties.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- to try to post my reply into some sort of context. firstly.i haven't been to bv for nearly 20 yrs, for various reasons. we actually did go open racing last week to Doncaster and had a winner.the only reason for that was.I don't go racing ever. I'm 75 and my wife is 71 .i really don't want her to be travelling the extra miles at night.[she does enough with bv 4/5 times a week.] SO ITS ENCUMBANT UPON THE KENNEL STAFF .RACHEL..WHO IS MAGIC.but she has an infant baby and therefore it's not always able to go racing should the trainer's organisations.and those leaders have a set of rules ALL KNOW ABOUT. instead of the few in the know.things could maybe improve.
I am only an owner.and as such carry, no clout in the scheme of things, my replies on this subject was only my personal opinion.and as it's a forum I have the right to express them as they appear to me. there are trainers who feel they don't/didn't want to sign the proposed deal.nobody has said a word to the effect that may have on the other trainers at bv.they have already added another trainer, because of the other non-signers retinence to sign. if as you say others are not happy with a contract that's for them to evaluate. the contracts give at least some form of perceived guarantee that bv is safe for the 18 months of the duration.after we all thought it was as hall green shaky at the very least there is supposed to be some pot of gold.for owners, if it does exist.it will be the first time ever the tracks have allowed it to trickle down to the owners.yeah lol. that is my reply like it or not it's my view or OMO
Dave Smith (greyhoundsforsale) OPEN CLASS **** Official Sales Partner Of B.V.O.F
Dave Smith (greyhoundsforsale) Avatar
Posts: 2,502
Jul 22, 2017 at 7:16pm QuoteMessage Options hi mate,certainly wasn't having a go at you,but its come to my attention that some trainers are being put under pressure by promotors,gta tried to get support but too many trainers only looked after themselves,harnden is nothing more than a puppet,i see this all ending badly all the best dave
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 11:36:32 GMT
Im hearing Perry Barr trainers have refused to sign the new deal as there aint anything in it for their owners, apparently sunderland trainers signed uop for £333 per dog on the strengh, BV trainers it seems just took a one off bung to commit to the contract, but Perry Barr have said its not enough what they been offered, how great is it to see the trainers thinking of their owners too, WELL DONE them, and be interesting to see if and when they get more BV wont due to having already agreed for much less. Interesting times ahead
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