Decision to waive daily fees will reduce bookmakers’ overheads and start to revive the betting ring
On-course bookies who have been unable to work since racing resumed behind closed doors in June received some welcome news on Tuesday when Arena Racing Company and Jockey Club Racecourses, which operates 31 tracks, said it will waive fees for bookies standing at any meeting where spectators are permitted from 2 December until at least the end of 2020.
The racing industry has been hit hard by the
Coronavirus pandemic, initially with a two-and-a-half-month suspension from mid-March and subsequently with the loss of six months of revenue from spectators. No group has suffered more than the on-course bookies, however, with all but a handful having been unable to work since mid-March.