Proposals to modernise British horse racing’s image, including an end to traditional odds, have been unveiled.

This change makes no difference to me per my example tissue below.

In fact it will make it easier to bang in the pre race odds into my PDA without having to find the “/” character on the mini-keyboard for each entry.

At the end of the day, whether they are fractional or decimal, odds are odds and you still need an edge to beat them and the game long term.

Gambler threatens to kill top racehorse after forgetting to place bet

A gambler threatened to kill a top racehorse unless it was withdrawn from a high-profile race after realising he had forgotten to place a bet on it which would have netted a syndicate £55,000.

Monthly charges are

• Membership: £7.50
• Tipping: £9.50
• RUK live: £7.50
• RUK replays: £5.50
• Ultimate membership: £19.95

Ultimate membership (Annual): £199.95

Prices charged at 15% VAT so expect an extra contribution to the goverment coffers later this year.

There’s a lot of bitching and moaning on the various boards regarding the costs. For my needs (access to their database) £7.50 per month is fair value in my book.

I’ll put costs down to a legitimate expense  for my past time.

I should have twigged something was afoot last night when preparing for Bath’s evening card on Wednesday. The Racing Post splash screen indicated that the site was unavailable from 10pm to 3am due to “essential maintenance”.

Woke up this morning to find that they have made so called enhancements and changes to the website. In reality from July you need to become a member (and charged accordingly) to access the following

• Spotlights
• Postdata
• Racing Post Ratings (RPR) tables
• Topspeed tables
• Selection boxes
• Post-race analysis
• Raceform Notebook
• Analysis of winning times
• Previous winners’ tables
• Horse statistics
• RPR and Topspeed ratings on horse pages
• Horse sales
• Horse relatives
• Sales search
• Information
• Quotes from trainers
• Racing business news
• News archive
• Tipping
• Pricewise Extra
• Trading Post
• Trading Post Extra
• Training Centres
• Big-race Trends
• In-running pointers

This is the second (or is it third) attempt the bean counters from Canada Square have tried to implement a subscription based business model for their website. It is doomed to fail and here’s why

1. Apart from the obvious (iTunes, music, video and porn), name a website that is making serious money charging for access to its content? The various broad sheets at Fleet Street tired and failed so what makes the Racing Post different?
2. Were the top rated horses in the Racing Post Ratings causing the bookies to run for cover?
3. Were the Racing Post tipsters causing the bookies to run for cover?
4. Given that the betting shop edition of the Racing Post is plastered on the wall of every bookmaker in the land, were the punters steaming into the selection highlighted in the race “Verdict” box?

The value placed on information is relative. If it’s useful (in this case profitable) then someone will pay for it. If punters perceive they are getting nothing in return for their monthly subscription (a long stream of losers) then they will look elsewhere.

I shall pay the subscription, for me the Racing Post is a vast database of numbers that require interpretation in my own unique approach per my maxim.

Common sense dictates that you cannot outsmart the public if you are handicapping with the same information and methods as the public

Most punters are not interested in working out which side of the draw has the most pace (20/6/09:  Ascot 4.25 High Standing @ 7/1 drawn 28 paid for a nice weekend away in Cardiff when most pundits stated that a low draw was required to win the Wokingham). Most punters are not interested that draw 1 over 6 furlongs at Lingfield is a coffin box.

All punters are interested in is a source of information that provides a steady stream of winners with minimal effort on their part, the Racing Post however much they market their content isn’t the path to the payout window!

The Racing Post may have cornered the market in respect to sporting newspaper however to coin a phrase I picked up from another blog in the age of the internet, this medium is going the way of the dodo (“dead tree press”).

To implement a strategy that charges the customer a fee for access to the on-line version of the paper is questionable especially when there are “free” alternatives of opinions and selections such as the Sporting Life, Timeform and At The Races.

Update 5.00 pm: The chaps over at the Racing Forum are voting with their feet!