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Letter of the Week

All sizzle, no steak

 

In regard to margin betting: "Even if there is a perception that it is bad for racing, we will act," said Racing Victoria chief Rob Hines. "If Peter Moody and others are complaining about it, we’d be mad not to listen." (Herald Sun 16/5)

Really? So the industry plans to ban margin betting without any actual evidence of corruption, with nothing to go on but over-the-top complaints from Moody and co, plus tenuous comparisons with other sports with a completely different historical background in terms of wagering (the surprise with other sports would be if there wasn’t corruption from "spot" betting).

The industry would ban the practice even while fully conceding that this may be only on account of "perception".

A key question is: how has this perception come about? I’ve already outlined what I take to be false parallels with other sports, but as well as this there is the simple fact of paranoia on the part of some in regard to a livelihood that they love and whose potential decline they fear.

I think Moody’s complaint on this topic was very short on substance.

The media are culpable in the fostering of this perception. What a difference it would make to the debate if journos like Matt Stewart (the author of the article quote above) actually set out the supposed arguments, discussed them reasonably, and named the minority paranoid responses — which racing has always had, always will — for what they are.

The perception of corruption in this case is what it is overwhelmingly because of the media; change their handling of it, and the perception will change too.

The issue of margin betting is small potatoes, but it is illustrative of just how poor the level of debate is in racing journalism.

Michael Barton
Parkville (Vic)
Today's Racing
Friday 29 March
Saturday 30 March
Sunday 31 March