On-course bookmakers 'very happy' with trade as spectators return to Aintree

Noble Yeats's 50-1 victory in Saturday's Grand National capped an encouraging three days in the betting ring for on-course bookmakers, who reported strong trade as spectators returned to the National meeting for the first time since 2019.

Bookmakers were delighted with business at last month's Cheltenham Festival and while Aintree's three-day meeting could not match the same sort of volume, the general feeling from the betting ring was once again positive.

"Thursday is always a bit quiet but Friday and Saturday were very good," said John White, representing one of Britain's largest on-course operators, White Sunderland.

"We were probably up on ticket numbers and up on turnover, probably because punters have missed two years. It will be interesting to see what happens next year and if it falls off or not but we've been very happy with business.

"People are having a good time and it's great in Liverpool. It's their Ascot or Cheltenham, they love it and the betting was great, so no complaints."

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While the big-staking players from Cheltenham may have been thin on the ground at Aintree, casual punters were more than happy to spend their cash in the ring over the three-day meeting.

Noble Yeats's victory was a good one for the bookmakersCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

White added: "There was nothing out of the ordinary to be honest but I'm not worried about that. The volume was good and I suspect it would have been up on 2019. It all ran very smoothly."

John Hooper, who was represented with four rail pitches at Aintree, painted a similar picture and was understandably delighted with the result of the big race.

"It wasn't as busy as Cheltenham but nowhere is and it was positive," said Hooper. "The ring was active and our slips and stakes were both up.

"We had some regular customers there and the National was certainly a good result for us."

In general, on-course bookmakers have reported business to have responded well since crowds returned to racecourses, although the repercussions of the ongoing review of gambling laws by the British government remains a concern across the betting industry.

"The busy days and weekends have held up well [post-pandemic]," said White. "There's a bit of money around because of these rather obtrusive checks that are going on.

"We'd like to make a point to the Gambling Commission that from a racecourse bookmaker's point of view, we only have six or seven races to bet on every day and not 450 dog races and a casino. We hope we will be treated fairly and go on from there.

"We're very responsible and do a lot of data checks but the public want to go and have their £20, get some cash in their hands and have a nice day out. We need to be treated in a different way [to off-course firms] quite frankly. Without bookmakers the racecourse would be very dull."

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