Punters' watchdog has concerns over rising overrounds

Overrounds, the profit margin built into a bookmaker's odds, have been trending upwards recently and last quarter averaged more than two per cent per runner for the first time since 2011, according to statistics compiled by the Racing Post.

Four of the last five quarters have featured the highest overrounds per runner since the start of 2011, with the figure of 2.04 for the three months to the end of September the highest of them all.

Individual cases of high overrounds have been highlighted at Ffos Las and Musselburgh in recent months, while the figure for the Grand National often sparks debate.