UK CROWDS

Hibs, C&C et al do you chaps have an idea of who the punters are that race at the tracks midweek? Do they not have jobs or are they on the dole? I cannot work out how so many people can attend a midweek racemeeting

Exspensive to go racing in the UK Mr H,So doubt they are non workers.The tracks all have their own marketers and different owners and the fixtures are punted to the locals through the media all year round.My local track Musselburgh was saved by the local council from solvency just over 10 years ago and is now booming.

Having said that,the tracks that race weekly(Southwell,wolves,kempton,Lingfield)during the winter attract 3 men and a dog

Mr H

In the UK many pensioners take an interest in racing and when the weather is good they go to the races also lots of people work flexi hours and lots work nights. Also people take their holidays in the Spring and Summer and also children are welcome to the tracks so people make it a family day out.

thanks guys - wish we could get a tenth of that crowd to a saturday meeting

And none of it helps the stakes pot one tiny little bit. Yes it's nice to have an atmosphere on course, but from a strictly practical point of view does it really matter? French tracks on ordinary days look much emptier, yet their stakes are in a different universe to the UK's.

Correct Magic (sort of ) the busy tracks are adding prizemoney to meet the Tarrifs,prizemoney has taken a big hit since the massive increase in fixtures that the uk have suffered over the last decade or so..,also the oncourse Bookmakers are desperate to get out of the game as there are no "proper punters" on course anymore.

Companies like Ladbrokes,WM Hill ,Betfair,Betwelchers etc have moved their operations to Gibraltar to avoid paying tax

Other than the fact that there are no licenced bookmakers in France,does anybody know what the financial differences are in their model,compared to ours.
It must be more than just the bookmakers issue, because if their tote produced the same value as ours,punters would be taking fixed odds elsewhere in europe,bearing in mind they are not restricted to the same extent by forex.

Rob online gaming is ilegal in france,poker etc...

Have even heard stories of french cash punters(sports betting) channel hopping and doing the english betting shops

Hibs,that is external to racing.......what I am interested in is a)does the tote fund stakes entirely b)what is the take-out on their tote etc etc etc .

Rob i dont know the breakdown as my french is not very good,but they Turned over R90 billion last year and the take out was 28%

rob,

french racing fu cks up sa 6 love......and below are examples of how the tote fund it all...i just bought a horse there...

PRIZE MONEY

"Owners can expect to cover 55% of their training costs through prize money as opposed to 23% in the UK and 28% in Ireland"
(2008 IFHA figures).

Prize money in France is due to increase by 3% in 2011.

In 2008 the average prize money fund per race in France was 22,810€ compared to 11,760€ in the UK (IFHA figures).

The minimum value flat race in France is worth 3000€ to the winner. This does not include premiums.

Prize money is paid to the first five places (and occasionally to seventh).



OWNERS PREMIUMS

The owners of horses that are born and bred in France (né et élevé en France or "assimilé"winking smiley are eligible to receive premiums in addition to prize money. These premiums are only available in flat races not restricted to French breds.

Premiums: 75% of prize money for 2 year olds

63% of prize money for 3 year olds

48% of prize money for 4 year olds and up

BREEDER'S PREMIUMS

Breeders of horses that are born and bred in France are also eligible to receive premiums. In flat races restricted to French bred horses breeders receive 19% of the prize money and in flat races open to all horses they receive 14%.

TRANSPORT

When a horse travels to the races France Galop will partially reimburse transport costs.
PMH race meetings (provincial race meetings) at 0.1275€/km.
PMU race meetings (televised) at 0.255€/km.

RACE ENTRY COSTS

Race entry is free in France (with the exception of flat PMU handicaps and races with a total value of more than 40,000€). The owner is charged a small percentage of the total race value if the horse is taken out at the forfait stage or not declared to run. If the horse runs or is eliminated there are no fees to pay.

JOCKEY'S FEES

In France flat jockeys receive 8.5% of the prize money and owner's premiums if they finish in the first five. If they are not in the first five they are paid 13.57€ for a losing ride (apprentices 7.09€) . The owner also contributes to the jockey's travel costs. However, this cost is divided equally between the owners of the horses that the jockey is riding at the meeting.

ELIMINATION SYSTEM

The basic principle of the elimination system in France is that once a horse has been eliminated from a race it is then given 'priority' to run in its next race. It is slightly more complex than this depending on what type of race the horse was eliminated from (PMU/PMH/conditions race/handicap) and the horses' performances in the last year. This system can be helpful to horses at the bottom of handicaps who would otherwise struggle to get a run.

OWNERSHIP REGISTRATION

Ownership applications are made through France Galop. The 'Owners Department' (English version) on the France Galop website has further information and a search facility to check availability of racing colours. The ownership application costs 245.18€ including registration of colours. It is also a requirement to open a France Galop bank account with a deposit of 2000€.

REGISTRATION OF PARTNERSHIPS

Partnership groups in France can be of up to ten people. Partnerships are known as 'associations' and one person is nominated as manager of the group and must be fully registered with their colours as described above. The others would be registered as 'associates' at a cost of 156€ each, plus 300€ each deposit in their France Galop bank account.