October
JulyCancel culture
Much has changed in the world of betting, most notably the appearance of very early markets, three or four days before the race as opposed to 40 minutes.
The percentages of those early markets can be 130-plus instead of the 105-112 common in the past.
Track conditions can change from a good 4 on Wednesday to a heavy 8 on Saturday, to say nothing of huge track biases affected by rail movements and usually only evident after racing has got underway.
If a track is downgraded/upgraded/biased on raceday, what recourse does the punter have?
A trainer, on behalf of owners, can and will scratch a horse — and fair enough. So why, in this day and age, can’t a punter cancel a bet?
To be fair to the corporates, I think any cancellation should have to occur at least 40 minutes before the race in question.
If a trainer/owner has had, for example, $10,000 on their horse, a dry-tracker, and the track goes from good 4 to soft 6, they scratch. Money back for them, and huge deductions for the poor, poor punter, whose bet must stand. Why?
Melbourne