The profit margin built into prices on day one of racing’s return to action was kept within very respectable limits
One of the interesting aspects of the resumption at Newcastle was the sight of bookmakers behaving themselves. Well, “sight” is wrong because all the betting action occurred online but the evidence is there for all to see in the results section of Tuesday morning’s Racing Post, which shows the profit margin built into bookies’ prices on day one was kept within very respectable limits.This matters because starting prices cannot be determined by on-course trade, the familiar, tested and mostly trusted system that has been in place for eons. The public can’t get into racecourses just now, so racecourse bookmakers are sidelined.
For the time being SPs are being contrived from the odds offered by various firms online according to some unpublished formula overseen by the Press Association. It’s a new system lacking transparency and any punter would have to be wary, which is why it’s reassuring to see over-rounds between 113% and 119% for the mostly 12-runner races at Newcastle.