Racing people need to wake up - the sport's income and integrity are at risk

There has been both good and bad news in terms of efforts to tackle corruption in racing.

First the good news, although it comes with a notable caveat.

The BHA was entirely justified in describing the disciplinary panel's decision to ban former jockey Danny Brock for 15 years as "a powerful message" to those who seek to engage in serious wrongdoing.

Brock was warned off, having been found guilty of deliberately stopping horses as part of a betting conspiracy, while Sean McBride, assistant to his father Charlie McBride, was handed a seven-year disqualification. For both men, the punishments are set to be life-changing.

Brock continues to publicly assert his innocence, yet the BHA's legal counsel Louis Weston could hardly have been more forceful in his condemnation, declaring to the panel: "What position does this man serve in the sport? He's corrupt, he shouldn't be in it."

If Brock was indeed corrupt, Weston is absolutely right. There must, however, be legitimate concerns that a number of corrupt individuals continue to exist within racing because the attempts to root them out are not sufficiently thorough.

Cases such as that involving Brock and McBride have become relatively rare. Is that because there are far fewer people engaged in nefarious activities or is the sport simply not unearthing enough of those whose behaviour cheats punters, bookmakers and racing professionals?

Danny Brock: has been warned off for 15 yearsCredit: Edward Whitaker

For roughly a decade, an individual with expert knowledge of racing and betting was contracted by the BHA to deliver daily integrity reports, an important part of which were alerts in relation to future races in which malevolent conduct was suspected. That employee was able to provide intelligence that flagged up where investigations might be merited, but the BHA has not utilised the person's services for a number of years. It is hard to interpret that as a positive development.

What absolutely has to be welcomed is the close working relationships that exist between the BHA, bookmakers and betting exchanges. The case against some of the conspirators in this latest corruption scandal was strengthened by access to their punting history with Betfair. The voluntary sharing of information has been hugely important in racing's fight against corruption. Crucially, however, that sort of memorandum of understanding is only possible with licensed gambling operators – which takes us back to the deservedly red-hot topic of affordability checks.

The bad news referenced at the top of the column is the growth in evidence that indicates a number of punters are taking their business to the black market in response to the highly intrusive checks being demanded by betting firms fearful of the Gambling Commission.

Speaking to the Racing Post last week, Horseracing Bettors Forum chair Sean Trivass expressed the opinion that larger-staking customers are now switching to unregulated platforms.

"We do feel – but how you can evidence it is another matter – that this is probably pushing the big-time punters into the black market," said Trivass. "Are these big gamblers suddenly just stopping? I suspect that's not the case, in which case they are going elsewhere."

If that assessment is indeed based on fact – and stories being told by punters suggest it very much is – it creates a desperate situation for racing on a number of fronts. One of them is integrity, for sports governing bodies and regulators will quite obviously not have relationships with black market bookmakers. That means the black market is also a black hole when it comes to the sort of priceless information that helped the BHA secure convictions against Brock and McBride.

More broadly, an exodus of punters to illegal betting sites that pay nothing to racing must inevitably inflict colossal damage to the sport's finances, as well as placing those punters at risk of harm.

Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace has already estimated a £280 million drop in digital betting turnover at the company's 16 racecourses in 2022 compared to 2019. If business continues to move away from the regulated to the unregulated sphere, the sport's levy and media rights income is bound to be impacted. At a time when British racing's strategy for growth is dependent on boosting revenue from betting, that should frighten all industry leaders, stakeholders and participants.

It is therefore surprising – bewildering, even – that many of those whose livelihoods are connected to racing appear not to have woken up to the severity of this crisis.

Regardless of how much behind-closed-doors dialogue has taken place with government ministers and officials, it would surely be helpful if a greater number of prominent racing figures made public pronouncements on the subject of affordability checks.

Some racecourse industry leaders have been commendably vocal. Others have not. There has equally been a troubling absence of input from high-profile trainers and owners. There is little point making perfectly legitimate complaints about prize-money or the talent drain if you then stay silent on an issue that has the potential to severely worsen both problems.

Perhaps it's a British thing. In most other major racing jurisdictions, practitioners are far keener to acknowledge and promote the sport's inextricable and advantageous links with betting. There is no misplaced snootiness towards the fact most people who follow racing do so because they like to bet on the sport, nor that those same racing punters are hugely significant contributors to prize-money and much else besides.

A reality check has been needed for some time. The danger for racing is it may come too late.

Have you been affected by intrusive affordability checks? If so, we would like to hear from you. Email us (editor@racingpost.com) with the subject 'Affordability checks' to share your experiences and contact details

Read more . . .

Racing faces 'catastrophic' impact from affordability checks says NTF chief

'Not fit for purpose' – prominent MP slams gambling regulator over interventions

'Enough is enough' – punters detail their frustration with intrusive checks

Punters' views: 'Nobody checks my records when I buy wine or fill my car up'

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