Cover image courtesy of Australian Turf Club
TTR’s problems-and-solutions series has so far heard from a trainer, breeder, and welfare advocate. The next response comes from Kingsley Bartholomew, a professional punter who has spent more than 25 years betting on racing and has also worked as a bookmaker.
Bartholomew is known to many punters through Wolfden and The King Zone, his punting education and analysis platform built around form, price, staking and discipline.
His concern is the recreational punter: the person who studies the form, has a bet on Saturday and accepts they may lose, provided the game still feels worth playing.
Bartholomew’s warning is that once the game stops feeling like a contest, racing has a much bigger problem than one lost bet.
What do you think is racing's biggest problem?
When people talk about the biggest challenges facing Australian racing, the conversation usually revolves around prizemoney, ownership, breeding, field sizes, integrity, funding or racing assets.
They're all important, sure, but they're all outcomes.
For me, it all comes back to one question.
What does the recreational punter need to ensure they're still betting on Horse Racing in 20 years' time?
Because without the recreational punter, we simply don't have a racing industry. They're not just another stakeholder. They're the customer and the lifeblood of the entire industry.
The good news is we've already got an outstanding product. Our integrity is world class. Our stewards do an outstanding job. The Spring and Autumn Carnivals are some of the best sporting events in the country. We race at fantastic venues and there has never been more form, data and information available to help punters understand horse racing and make informed decisions.
Kingsley Bartholomew | Image courtesy of Champion Bets
So why do I think we've got a problem?
Plain and simply, recreational punters are slowly becoming disengaged with horse racing. They're losing something worse than money... they're losing hope. Hope that the game they've always loved will one day return to being a genuine bookmaker versus punter battle.
Overall competition in the betting markets has reduced dramatically and high-percentage pricing, driven largely by increased taxation, has become increasingly similar, stagnant and robotic. As a result, the average punter's entertainment dollar simply doesn't last as long as it once did.
That really matters more than we realise. Not because they've lost. Most recreational punters understand they're probably going to lose over time. It matters because the enjoyment doesn't last as long. Instead of still having money in their account at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon, many are done by Race 4.
That's a massive difference.
Hope is what keeps someone studying the form on a Friday night. It's what gets them to the races on Saturday. It's what keeps them talking about Horse Racing with their mates. It's what makes them come back week after week.
Once hope disappears, eventually so does the customer.
The challenge today is that horse racing isn't just competing against itself. It's competing against sport, casinos, online poker, gaming and every other form of entertainment chasing exactly the same betting dollar.
The problem is that most of those industries work off margins of around 5%. Horse racing, from the recreational punter's perspective, is asking them to bet into markets where they lose in excess of 20% on turnover.
On top of that, bookmakers are now forced to place many punters who lose between 1% and 7% on turnover into the "too hard basket". This particular group of punters are often high turnover low margin clients who are now being lost to the industry.
If people stop enjoying betting on horse racing, they'll simply find something else to do. And once they're gone, they're incredibly hard to win back.
That's why I don't think maintaining turnover should be the goal. Growing it should be. And you don't grow turnover by focusing on turnover. You grow turnover by looking after the person who creates it.
What is the solution?
For me, there are two areas where we can make a real difference.
The first is bringing genuine competition back into the wagering market. Today's taxation model has helped create an environment where high-margin markets have become the norm. There are still bookmakers who genuinely want to compete, frame aggressive markets and encourage turnover, but under the current system it's becoming harder and harder to do commercially.
I'd like to see a tiered taxation model that rewards bookmakers for betting into lower-percentage markets. Better competition creates better value. Better value keeps punters in the game longer. That's good for horse racing, good for turnover and ultimately good for engagement and new innovation which will attract the next generation of punters.
Secondly, I think Australia needs an independent national wagering regulator. This isn't about taking the punter's side or the bookmaker's side. It's about restoring confidence in the wagering marketplace.
The industry rightly focuses heavily on the integrity of horse racing, and it does an outstanding job. But if horse racing is going to have a prosperous future, we also need to focus on the integrity of the wagering marketplace.
Bookmakers contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Principal Racing Authorities every year. Those same Principal Racing Authorities set betting rules, oversee betting limits and also rule on customer versus bookmaker disputes. Whether the current system is fair or not isn't really the point. If everyday punters don't believe there's a genuinely independent place to turn when disputes arise, confidence in the sport slowly disappears.
An independent national wagering regulator could provide consistency, transparency and trust while also looking at broader issues affecting the long-term health of wagering, including minimum bet limits, automation, liquidity and market accessibility.
Horse racing has one of the greatest sporting products in the world. But I think the industry is at risk of losing sight of the one group that financially underpins everything. The recreational punter.
If the horse racing industry can bring integrity and trust back into the marketplace combined with a competitive and vibrant betting landscape Australian horse racing has an incredibly bright future.
If we can't, no amount of prizemoney, marketing or promotion will save it in years to come.
