Tuesday 3 January 2012

PETER HEALEY FEARFUL OVER THE TOTE - RACING POST LETTERS

RACING POST LETTERS SUNDAY JANUARY 1st 2012

FEARFUL OVER THE TOTE PETER HEALEY Cirencester


"The Racing Post was right to ask (December 27th) what happens next at the Tote, and whether punters and racing will feel any benefit.



"I cannot help feeling that, should Fred Done fulfil his stated ambition to develop a National Lottery-style wager (Special report, October 12th) the overall Tote pool in racing will only be diluted, as happened to the Lotto when other lottery products were introduced.



"For this reason, I am fearful the promised wager might not stay in horseracing but might migrate to motor racing, darts or golf, tennis or snooker. As Fred is fond of saying, the poolside is as big as your imagination. I take this as a warning in the context.



 
"The longer we wait for the announcement - and it was first expected by the end of November - the more fearful I become because, if the wager is not to be set around horseracing, how can our sport hope to benefit?



"We should not take Done's commitment to racing for granted but remember what he said in an interview in 2010: "I've lost interest in racing, to be honest with you."



"If he was caught in an unguarded moment then, it is racing that should be guarded now - at least until we are privy to his grand design."


PETER HEALEY Cirencester FEARFUL OVER THE TOTE