Dettori forces bookmakers to find new coping systems for multiples on star rider

Bookmakers are adopting a fundamental change in strategy to manage the unique risk posed to their businesses by accumulator bets placed on Frankie Dettori, according to Simon Clare, PR director for Ladbrokes Coral.

Dettori’s stunning run of success this summer has left layers fearing eye-watering payouts to small-staking punters, including at Sandown on Saturday where he rode a treble.

The shift has come after bookmakers were shaken to the core by the rider’s scintillating performance in the saddle on day three of Royal Ascot when he rode the first four winners. Had he ridden all six winners, the industry faced a staggering payout reportedly totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Layers’ troubles have been exacerbated by concessions such as best-odds guaranteed, which have resulted in huge cumulative odds for Dettori’s rides, and Cash Out, with the algorithms responsible for managing early-exit offers affected by the artificial shortening of prices by firms in reaction to the jockey’s wins, resulting in inflated returns for punters.

In response, bookmakers such as Sky Bet and bet365 have restricted the number of Dettori selections which can be permed together, while other firms have enforced maximum stakes and Coral went Starting Price (SP) only on Dettori’s final two rides at Sandown on Saturday.

While punters dreaming of a life-changing win on Dettori is not new thanks to the rider’s legendary Magnificent Seven at Ascot in 1996, Clare says a new approach by firms is prudent after the wake-up call of Royal Ascot.

He said: “Ever since 1996 we have been well aware of what Frankie’s capable of. We’ve also had days when other jockeys have been on a roll and it’s been costly, such as Ryan Moore winning the first three races on Lincoln day in 2017, but that would have just been a bad day for us.

“With Frankie at Royal Ascot there hadn’t been a point where liabilities had run up to this extent for a long time and it brought into sharp focus the potential size of the exposure were he to go through an entire high-profile card. With prices all locked in and with all major firms probably holding positions that were essentially too big to hedge, we had to look at how we better mitigated these risks for similar situations that may arise in the future."

Dettori: rode 3 winners at Sandown on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

Facing a substantial liability again on Coral-Eclipse day at Sandown on Saturday, Coral went SP only on Dettori’s final two rides to allow the firm to adequately hedge against its position if needed, leading ITV presenter Matt Chapman to label the firm “pathetic”.

Clare called the comments “nonsensical” and “poor” and added the stance Coral adopted was a decision it felt allowed punters to continue placing bets without putting the company in a recklessly dangerous position had Dettori pulled off the six-timer.

He said: “We genuinely believed we chose the fairest option. Our action meant we were still taking the bets but there was action we could still take if we needed to. We chose what we felt was fairest.

“We’d seen the full glare of what could happen at Royal Ascot and think it would have taken only £4,000 in stakes on six-folds at Saturday morning’s combined odds of 25,000-1 to give a £100 million payout. So we have to be able to trade these significant positions should Frankie ride the first few winners.”

With big summer Flat fixtures such as the July festival at Newmarket, the King George at Ascot and Glorious Goodwood fast approaching, bookmakers are preparing for action such as pricing up Dettori’s mounts at shorter odds in an attempt to reduce accumulator risk.

Firms readily admit it is a scenario unique to racing’s greatest showman and Clare added: “Frankie Dettori is amazing. Everyone is drawn to him like a moth to a light. We don’t want people not to place the [multiple] bets as they’re totally legitimate and logical bets, but we need to find a way whereby if he did do something amazing again then we could take risk management action. Any bookmaker laying standard business would be the same.”

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