Bets On Horses Killed In Action

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bloodnok

At the Start
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
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York
I've been quiet for a bit, but a thought occurred to me after the deaths of Willyanwoody and Granit Jack on Saturday.

On some races at the Paddy Power meeting the sponsor refunded bets placed on horses that fell, unseated or where brought down. PP often offer this type of concession, if you are second beaten by the fav or leading at the last fence and get beaten etc. and any help is appreciated! This offer made me uncomfortable however. The thought of punters watching their selection, all chance of winning gone and hoping for a fall to get their stake back does nothing for my enjoyment of the sport.

Instead of refunding bets in these circumstances how about bookies giving a percentage of losing bets, or better still one hundred per cent to racing charities like Greatwood or the injured jockeys fund etc.

Yesterday was a sharp reminder of the demands the sport places horses, riders and the lads and lasses who look after them. NH racing is a wonderful sport but horses and jockeys get injured and killed, days like yesterday take some coming to terms with and this way at least some residual good can come out of them and punters and bookies get the chance to give a bit back.

My rose tinted spectacles are now being removed!
 
Will never happen Bloodnok as bookmakers like a lot of businesses are PLC's - the shareholders wouldn't approve however much you and I do.

It doesn't help my enjoyment either (particularly when I'd rather have a losing bet than see Granit Jack or any other horse killed in action) but hopefully the powers that be at Cheltenham will look into those couple of fences, there positioning - maybe look at the height of them or whether there's a way of altering the course if at all possible.
 
You are probably right but even a small percentage would help, Ive written to all the bookies of the RP betting site you never know! There is also the uncollected 'sleeping bets' to consider.

Often horses don't seem to make serious mistakes at the 3rd or 2nd last, indeed sometimes they seem to jump it too well and it was mentioned on the TV the other day that it's the horses that are going the best that seem to come to grief at these fences. Hard to know what to do I suppose.
 
good idea in principal, but the effort to get each bet donated to charity would cost them thousands in admin each year. they just want a catchy advert in the papers on a saturday to attract punters.
 
The idea is great but unfortunatly the bookies are a money driven business who don't calculate there income on popularity but how much money comes through the door its a ruthless business and I can't see the idea goin any further but keep trying you may succeed wether its your general idea or not .
 
It's possible of course to encourage punters who get paid back in such circumstances to donate their refunds to charity - maybe Bloodnok you could write a letter to the RP to that effect?

Paddy power refunded over 400,000 yesterday on the death of those two horses alone; there would have been a lot more today on Rindoon and on Friday for Jim, let alone all the fallers which got up. The offer was over the whole meeting.

I suppose if the bookies' shareholders would agree that stakes on DEAD horses only should be given to racing charites, that would be a start.
 
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