Scotland's sporting industry is now released from most of the restrictions brought in on 26 December. Clearly this is good news for us though it does come with a couple of caveats. There's a 50% vaccine passport check requirement which may deter a few and could make entry more cumbersome. Kelso on Sunday also comes a day early for restrictions to be lifted. And, on a personal level, I have written to "Find Business Support" which is the Scottish Government's website for Covid support to find out what support businesses in our industry are eligible for and under what scheme. The answer at the moment is a resounding "none" and "none". My correspondence with the local council came with a copy and paste link to stuff that isn't relevant so my last hope is my MSP- awaiting response there. Not hopeful. It would appear that we are unlikely to get any support to replace the thousands of pounds we lost over the festive period. We are, alas, not alone. Onwards!!
Having no work (other than the odd delivery job for Amazon, along with half of the on course bookmaking fraternity) over the festive period did, however, give me the opportunity and impetus to look at how we work and see whether we could change anything in our business. We've been on course for 7 or 8 years now but are still very much new blood to our more esteemed and experienced colleagues so I had the opportunity to pick many brains over the last month. Don't think I'll be giving away too many trade secrets as most of the following is well known to many.
In general there appears to be 3 main options when it comes to structuring books- loads of variations on a theme of course. We have generally tinkered with variations on the option 2) theme to this point.
1) The much maligned "green up" brigade. Books will not have any losers in their book- some will have a zero liability with horses worth various amounts, some will make all horses win the same. The advantages are, of course, that there is zero risk of loss and a wage is guaranteed however the amount of hedging (either in the betting ring or via the exchanges) that has to be done is colossal and, over time, every hedge ekes away value from your book. And, frankly, it's boring. Not for us!
2) A kind of "standard" book where the top of the market tends to be losing (to a liability that the individual bookmaker is comfortable with) and those further down in the betting are your winners. This can be achieved by a combination of hedging the higher price runners whilst being more aggressive price wise at the top of the market to ensure the more fancied runners (price wise) are losers. For the really short priced ones, however, you often will have to lay them on the exchanges as it's difficult to naturally get a 1/5 shot to be a loser in your book! It has the big advantage of, to a large extent, mitigating the shrewd money in the ring as you are less likely to get caught with a live one at a chunky price. It also means that a winning day can be achieved from the odd result or two, especially if it's a big priced one. Many bookmakers hate losing on outsiders and are always looking to get the top of the market beaten for a result. The main disadvantages are that you still need to hedge/use exchanges though to a much lesser degree than above in green up land (and the nearer the off you sort your book, the less you will need to hedge) and that there may also be minimal margin at the top of the market and a price collapse can kill any value in your book.
3) A "betting shop" book where you stand what you take. Full stop. You may have two 33/1 shots, one winning you a grand and the other one losing you a grand. Bookie bingo. This has the advantage of minimising your hedging (as you will still have to have some sort of maximum liability you will still need an element of hedging) which, over time, in theory, is a good thing. The disadvantages are that any shrewd money will be more likely to catch you out and you have to prepare yourself for the sound of every bookmaker in the ring shouting home the 50/1 shot that you've laid to lose a grand. Depressing thought. So, why on earth am I boring you with this theory known to most anyway? Well, after looking at 7 or 8 years of trading and how much money we've thrown at hedging; from Musselburgh at the beginning of February, we're having a stab at option 3, with the exception of at 1 racecourse where we ALWAYS win on the exchanges- this is not a good thing I hasten to add... I appreciate that the majority of books reading this will be shaking their heads wistfully at the folly of this enterprise- I can't really blame them. But go for it we shall. For good or for ill. Hopefully not the latter. I'll keep you updated with our meeting reports and the first time we get battered on a rag there'll be tears, both real and virtual. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Or possibly not, especially if you've had a bet with us!
Thanks to the many, many books I've spoken to over the last few weeks (you know who you are), many incredulous but all supportive- let's see where the roller coaster takes us. Until Kelso on Sunday then, may all your bets be winners, but not necessarily with us!
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