Racing Queensland Chairman Kevin Dixon (pictured) recently announced he's giving bookmakers 1.8 million dollars, but Justracing thinks he should have attached some fairly stringent conditions to the handout, as even people from within their own bookmaking ranks are publicly saying there are some bookies who are committing "highway robbery".

I admit to being bemused at a 30 June Media Release by Racing Queensland (RQL) in respect of them being ”pleased to announce a new incentive scheme aimed at ensuring the future of a vibrant and viable oncourse bookmaking community in Queensland”. The Media Release went on to say “the fabric of the race day experience is significantly enhanced by a well functioning bookies ring and it is this function RQL wishes to preserve. Country racing is particularly dependant on the bookmakers to provide their essential and invaluable services to the race clubs and their communities”.

Now that’s all the usual warm and fuzzy stuff when you are handing out industry money - and the upshot of all that is that the Media Release noted “the OFIS (Oncourse Fielding Incentive Scheme) will commence on July 1 (2012), and RQL estimates that $1.8 million will be invested in the scheme in this current year (2012)”.

So bookies, as an entity, get 1.8 million dollars, yet Racing Queensland by the wording of their Media Release obviously just intends handing them the money on a “no strings attached” basis. It is my considered opinion that if the Chairman of Racing Queensland, Kevin Dixon, was actually on the ball, he’d know that bookmakers in general – and in particular some from within their ranks fielding in country areas - really need to pick up their act, as the current way many operate is nothing but “an absolute and utter disgrace” as far as I’m concerned, as they don’t even remotely try to do the right things by their supposedly valued clients, namely the punters, who like to have a bet on the local gallops meetings, when they are attending a country race meeting. In fact the percentages that are being bet by bookmakers at some of these country race meetings – if the officially advised starting prices on all runners following the conclusion of a race are correct – are downright outrageous.

Let me say I’ve worked for bookmakers as a clerk from when I was 18YO, so I can fully understand that bookmakers are going to go up very tight with their market when one or more first starters are in a race, but on relatively high class country races – where the form is well exposed - some of the high percentages that are bet are totally obscene.

Let me show a few examples from recent weeks:

TRACK: WARWICK - Race 6 – Class 5 – 23/6/12

If you think that’s an isolated case, go to the race before that one - Race 5 from the same Warwick meeting - and these are the official starting prices of the entire field as per the RISA results. The race was a Class 3 Plate, so again the form is well exposed.

Go to another track, Roma on 23/6/12 and let’s look at Race 2 – a Class 4 race.

The country racing bookmakers percentages are in fact so bad, that in an article in the North Queensland Register, by respected racing writer and thoroughbred trainer Terry Butts, Terry has advised that a North Queensland bookmaker Brian Jorgenson has lodged an official complaint with the Office of Fair Trading because of the Oak Park Turf Club policy of operating a “closed betting ring” at their two recent annual Carnival meetings. Jorgenson stated that the bookmakers percentage on races run over the two days of the Oak Park Carnival “was an average of 177 percent”. Jorgenson who described the percentages bet at Oak Park as “highway robbery”, noted “in casino terms this equates to having 27 zeros on a roulette wheel”.

Some from within the bookmaking ranks will no doubt say that maybe the starting price information I am using is wrong on RISA, which therefore leads to distorted figures, but those individuals can’t have it both ways, as when I was doing the research for this story I was amazed to find that some country bookmakers actually do the right thing by their on-course patrons, to the point where their percentages are in fact even better than those of bookmakers fielding at Saturday city meetings.

For instance using RISA’s official starting prices again, here are the percentages of two races run at the Longreach track on 7/7/12.

So it’s not ancient history, Race 2 at Longreach on 7/7/12 was an Open Handicap.

If you think that’s not too bad, then try the market the local bookmakers betting on Race 5 at Longreach, a Class 6 on the same day finished with.

So to be fair and balanced in reporting this story, it must be said that the racing industry acknowledges that these bookmakers in the Longreach area are most certainly trying to do the right thing by country racing - and the industry as a whole applauds them for that - but before Racing Queensland Chairman Kevin Dixon started giving away 1.8 million dollars of industry money, he should have at least done some research on the subject to see if the very people he was giving the money to are in fact doing the right thing by country racing. Had he bothered doing some research on the subject he’d have found that there is indeed a lot of “highway robbery” happening on the bush racetracks around Queensland in 2012, even though both Cobb and Co and bushrangers are supposedly a thing of the past. As it’s industry money he is handing out, there is certainly no problem with Kevin Dixon affixing some terms and conditions to the money, such as something along the lines of “Racing Queensland is gravely concerned at the percentages currently being bet by some bookmakers and will be constantly monitoring the percentages that people from within the bookmaking ranks are offering at both city and country meeting to ensure that bookmakers are doing the right thing by both their valued clients and the racing industry as a whole”. Oh and while he’s at it, Kevin Dixon could also swiftly and sensibly also put a stop to this stupid “closed betting ring” crap, as that nonsense doesn’t have a place in a free and democratic society either, if “country racing is particularly dependent on these bookmakers” - as per the original Media Release. Isn’t it basic commonsense that racetrack attendees cannot possibly have a fair opportunity to get the best possible bookmaker price about their selection when they are betting in a closed ring? Firstly placing some conditions on the 1.8 million dollars being handed out – and secondly getting rid of closed betting rings would seem astute business acumen to even a dummy like me.

Today on www.brisbaneracing.com.au there is the second huge montage of photos from Marburg harness last Saturday, Ipswich twilight greyhounds last Tuesday along with thoroughbred action from Doomben last Saturday and the Grafton Carnival. On www.sydneyracing.com.au Brian Russell looks at a stallion that is coming across from New Zealand to New South Wales, whilst on www.melbourneracing.com.au Matt Nicholls writes of Bradbury Chocolate.