Deal over pitch sales 'monopoly'

The Office of Fair Trading has dropped its investigation into the National Joint Pitch Council, the body which administers Britain's racecourse betting rings, after it agreed to amend the rules on the sale of betting pitches. The changes will significantly reduce the council's income but remove the threat of bankruptcy that has been hanging over it for the last seven months.

As part of the deal, the council has agreed to reduce the commission it charges for the sale of pitches at its regular auctions from 12% to 6%. Private sales between bookmakers will also be subject to a commission of 6%, down from the previous level of 15%.

In return, the OFT will permit the council to retain a monopoly on the sale of pitches at auction, an apparent u-turn on the issue which prompted the OFT investigation in the first place. In December 2001, the OFT wrote to David Boden, a former bookmaker who was attempting to set up a rival auction facility for racecourse pitches, apparently telling him that it was satisfied the council's monopoly was in breach of competition law.

Boden said yesterday that had his company been allowed into the market, it would have levied a charge of just "one per cent and, in time, hopefully less" on pitch sales. Instead, he has shelved his plans, and bookmakers will be paying six times as much.

Yesterday's decision will come as an immense relief to the council, which has been severely criticised by racecourse bookmakers who feel that its fees are too high, and question whether the money raised by pitch sales is being used efficiently.

The council has shed more than half its staff in recent months, including its former chief executive Clive Reams, to cut costs. After this ruling, which is backdated to the start of the year, it will return more than £550,000 to bookmakers, money collected in fees over the last six months but "ring-fenced" for refunds pending the investigation's outcome.

Tom Clarke, the council's chairman, welcomed the ruling, saying: "Without our funding, we would not be able to carry out the duties demanded of us by the Horserace Betting Levy Board when we were established four years ago and administer the betting rings for the benefit of bookmakers, racecourses and, not least, the betting public."

The bookies and backers yesterday afternoon had to make do with the standard mid-July fare of Yarmouth and Catterick, but there was promising news from the gallops ahead of the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday week.

Frankie Dettori exercised Sakhee, last year's Arc winner, at Newmarket and said afterwards that he was "delighted" with the five-year-old's progress since a gallop at Sandown last week. "He has come on since Sandown and he wasn't even blowing after wards," Dettori said. "Obviously we weren't asking too much but he was still good and I was very pleased with him."

Dettori has yet to choose between Sakhee and his Godolphin stablemate Grandera, the winner of the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, as his mount in the King George. "If it is good to soft I will ride Sakhee, if it is fast I will ride Grandera," he said. "As long as both horses are ready to win, I will be ready, and they are right now. It's nice to have that sort of choice."

Coral makes Sakhee evens favourite for the King George ahead of Grandera on 5-2, and Godolphin also had the early favourite for the St Leger, Kazzia at 3-1, when the same firm opened its book on the final Classic yesterday.