This week's Financial Mail - horse racing topic

Not really the bookie is only acting as an agent for SARS much the same as your employer

Jack wrote an excellent piece above and it is worth a if anybody decided to give a miss due to the length of it.

I would like to know what the Soccer 6 does for racing. What percentage of that pool is retained and how much of that retained income makes its way back to racing? If income is not retained at the same level as racing and money is not making its way back to racing, then Mr Dup is using the tired old bookie thing as a red herring. If it does make an equal contribution then this statement is meaningless.

Umlilo will be able to tell you a lot about the move from racing clubs to corporate. We are seeing world wide protest on corporate greed, Occupy Wall Street etc. The problem is that in the corporate structure opportunities are exploited for the benefit of shareholders. Nothing wrong we would mostly say but in the perfect environment where companies are producing a consistent; quality end product we as consumers can live with it and enjoy it. In racing the key word; exploited. Corporate management will continue to get their bonuses as long as they continue to deliver the dividend. Therefore you have to question why bookies are at the forefront of excuses why "horse racing is reduced to a canter"? Is it not a way to justify the sale of more of racing's assets? I would be happy to see the non performing centres sold off only if every cent of the money earned is reinvested back into racing infrastructure and how about a bit of capital investment from the corporate machine too. Shareholders have received consistent dividends yet we are told that racing is in trouble because the bookies are climbing in?

I would love an answer on the Soccer 6 thing if anyone can help?

Thanks Scotia I reread the thread and thats ubout what I come up with too.,but you know can't resist a jab at them! LOL

In the UK we reckon bookmakers across the board make about 12% profit on turnover before tax on average.

Only the busy survive

perhaps the seeked 'gov support' should come in the form of helping industry organic growth i.e. proper control functions that support the good name of racing and help with marketing and selling the sport to the missing generations so as to grow a bigger punter/owner/participant base, I can't see racing benefiting in the long run from a gov support of slashing/adding tax? Even if they did and Phum the corporate machine benefited, would they channel the extra liquidity back into racing to build it? - somehow I think it would go out in dividends instead...

Remember the Racing Association is the biggest shareholder so they take the lion's share of the dividends and they use that to plough back into racing. Hence, the payment of dividends is very important. At least, I think thats how it works.

the handmaiden you mean? lol