'You've got to know what punters want' - the on-course bookie trying everything

It was hard to stand out from the crowd at Doncaster on Saturday with the place packed to the rafters but one man who was doing his best to be a little bit different was on-course bookmaker Paul Johnson.

Born and bred in Doncaster, Johnson has been an on-course layer for 40 years but, rather than being stuck in the past, he has grasped better than some that competition for the punters' pound has never been more intense and is at least trying to do something to protect his market share.

The home of the St Leger was certainly rocking and there was almost certainly plenty of cash to go around the betting ring, but not every weekend meeting attracts a crowd as healthy as the one on Saturday and midweek fixtures across Britain are more often than not poorly attended.