THE old saying that if you’re not big enough to lose, you’re not big enough to win can be applied to a number of scenarios in racing, but probably none more so than the dynamic between punters and bookmakers.
The battle between the pair tends to be a tug of war, with good days and bad days in store for both parties. Crucially, though, the relationship relies on the mutual understanding that when any bet is struck, at least one of them is prepared to lose. That’s how it should be, at least.
What has developed over the last 12 months surrounding the case of Dylan Phelan and Ladbrokes is a most sorry episode. It is one that ends up reflecting badly on the wider betting sector.
As reported in last week’s edition of The Irish Field, Ladbrokes have been refusing to pay out on a €30 each-way double placed by Dylan Phelan, a stable lad with Declan Queally - trainer of the two winners in question, Diamond Nora and Rocky’s Diamond. A payout in the region of €300,000 was touted, though this may have ended up being closer to €100,000 when factoring maximum shop payout limits.
The major bookmaker had been withholding payment until an investigation has been concluded by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board into the improvement of form shown by both horses on the day, and more than a year passed without any payout on the bet.
A breakthrough on the unsatisfactory saga came on Friday evening, however, when Ladbrokes confirmed they would settle the six-figure bet, even with the outcome of the IHRB investigation yet to be published. The regulatory body told The Irish Field last week that the investigation is “nearing its conclusion”.
One of the more interesting strands of the case is that on the evening of the two winners, the improvement in form of only one of them, Diamond Nora at Ballinrobe, was referred on to the IHRB for further investigation by the raceday stewards. The Limerick stewards noted the content of the report surrounding why Rocky’s Diamond had improved dramatically from his Gowran debut.
According to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast this week, both races - not just one - are now the subject of investigation, suggesting that this is a bookmaker intelligence-led inquiry.
There are many areas to pick from here, but there has to be concern for everyone in the industry when a case like this had been allowed to roll on without resolution or payout for so long. Could we see other bookmakers rear up when similar gambles are landed in future, therefore denying payouts to punters?
The Declan Queally team have been enjoying a sparkling season, with growing quality and a number of well-backed winners featuring in the process.
As Declan Queally Jr noted in The Big Interview in these pages before the Dublin Racing Festival: “Hopefully we’ll be able to get the bookies the odd day. We won’t put them out of business, but we’ll keep them on their toes.”
Whether trying to pull off a gamble is everyone’s cup of tea or not, it’s an undeniable part of the game we’re in. It also is a point of intrigue for many surrounding the sport. Look no further than the story of Dylan Phelan being the most read piece on the Independent.ie website at one stage during Wednesday this week.
Without question, Diamond Nora and Rocky’s Diamond did show massive improvement from their previous rules form when winning their respective maiden hurdles. Absolutely they did. But they are far from the only horses who will be part of an attempted gamble on any given day in British and Irish racing. Some click, and more don’t. It is part of the game, and neither were horses running off basement marks in handicap company after being quietly campaigned down to low marks. Should it take more than a year to really get a handle on improvement in form?
The authorities are fully within their rights to look into circumstances surrounding any race they have a potential issue with. That makes sense. But it’s not entirely comfortable territory to have this process used as leeway for bookmakers not to pay out for a prolonged period either.
If it’s viewed as acceptable in this instance for bookmakers to not settle on the day for a gamble like this, where will the line be drawn in future?
While not suggesting any wrongdoing or skullduggery in any of these instances, there have been 17 other horses in Ireland since the beginning of last year who were beaten 40 lengths or more on their previous start in a maiden hurdle only to win a maiden hurdle next time out. In fact, the two most recent of these were well backed and sent off favourite and second favourite respectively. Ladbrokes previously setting this sort of precedent in terms of a bookmaker not paying out really immediately can’t afford to open a can of worms for firms going forward.
To be fair, several other bookmakers (both on course and off course) are said to have paid out on these races already - how must they have felt watching this unfold? It’s surely only common sense that we operate on a ‘result on the day’ basis. If we didn’t, then what sort of mess could we have been facing when it came to a race like last year’s Cesarewitch at Newmarket and the subsequent whip-rule drama that followed?
Anyone who backed the winner on the day was paid out, only for the same horse to be disqualified a week later after the rider was deemed to have broken the whip rules. At that point, backers of the second past the post might have been crying foul and looking for payouts, but - as we would later find out - the result was then switched back to its original outcome on appeal.
While still taking integrity matters seriously, that is an example of the messiness that could arise if getting into the realm of not settling betting results on the day of the race. It’s simply impractical to operate otherwise.
Whatever about the initial personal disappointment for anyone unable to collect, the Phelan case has been fascinating for the wider sector to watch unfold. If you’re willing to take the bet, you ought to be willing to pay out straight away.
IT seems as though the conversation never ends surrounding how racing is to attract the next generation of fans to the racetrack, and there was a fine example of practical and proactive thinking from the teams at Fairyhouse and Cork over the Easter weekend.
Fairyhouse’s Sunday fixture was also family day on the Easter weekend, and installed to kick off the card was a pony race for 10 junior members of the Ward Union Hunt and Meath Hunt.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had a pony race on an Irish racecourse proper, but they are by no means as common on these shores as is the case in Britain. Scheduling a contest like this before a major raceday was a terrific way to get the weekend underway, and it gives a great outlet for young riding enthusiasts to be involved on course.
The wide-margin success for Jake Cromwell, sporting the silks of J.P. McManus, aboard Smokey Lady II in the Red Mills-backed exhibition race clearly meant a lot to the young rider, also the son of Gavin Cromwell.
The initiative came with positive PR for the meeting too. Jake’s interview with Fran Berry on Horse Racing Ireland’s social media platforms was clearly well received, with upwards of 30,000 views across Instagram alone within 24 hours of being uploaded.
Likewise, Cork played host to its traditional Greenvalley Transport & Plant Hire Future Champions Pony Race on Easter Monday, getting another group of young riders to the track for a day to remember. That continues to be well received.
Hats off to teams at Fairyhouse and Cork for putting the effort in on already busy weekends and accommodating racing’s next generation. Here’s hoping more tracks can follow suit at other fixtures in future.