A SPORT FACING DANGERS FROM ALL CORNERS OF SOCIETY

One wonders at what point the momentum building 'war' being waged on betting will reach its ceiling. Those with horse racing at heart once hoped and even believed that those actively opposed to the most addictive forms of gambling would pat themselves on the back for a job well done once the war on FOBTs was won.

Surely they could see the difference between speculating wildly without reflection time, and putting in hard cash to support an opinion as a hobby, albeit one that can be costly when wrong decisions are made. Surely they would realise how LBO's had been taken over by a different breed of gambler with no interest in wagering on anything equine

But those of us who naively in support of the ultimately successful campaign to limit the stakes per spin on these sinister, gaudy machines, and who ignored warnings that once they unarm the most damaging aspects of the FOBTs they would turn their attention to betting on horses amongst other things, now wish   the FOBTs remained as soul destroying as they were, and remained at the core of anti gambling campaigns.

Most worryingly, it is becoming increasingly clear that those jumping aboard this interfering anti gambling bandwagon who consist of cross party MP's, anti gambling organisations, and some sections of the national media, will not stop until a regulatory system is in place that will monitor and impose affordability limits on an individual - this after nosing through their personal finances.

Right now the bookmaking firms have some very concerned bigwigs pulling the strings. Having to play along with the game, put on a soft, warm game face, concerned for the welfare of the clients. One upon a time stories were abundant involving the big firms wining and dining their biggest players (well the careless ones at least), accompanying them to live sporting events while accommodating their erratic betting patterns, then completely cutting ties once they had drained the client of his whole disposable  wealth.

This still remains the inherent instinct of those running the these big national firms. It's a ruthless business model and one that will also stamp on smaller, rival firms that set up nearby. Right now they are frantically considering all possible options to prevent this meddlesome enemy from removing their clout - lobbying and strengthening their ties with MP's who may have ulterior motives for offering their support. to undercutting McDonald's on morning snacks and coffees, ostensibly to portray a mumsey image but in reality to hook in who they hope will become addictive gamblers.

Let's be honest, all punters, even those who concentrate in the main on horse racing and who consider themselves genuine fans, will from time to time show a degree of irresponsibility. Often coming in the form of getting a bit too cute when things are going well and placing some careless wagers when the bank is big, or at the other end of the scale trying to smash your way out of a poor run, which in the worst case scenario results in an enforced sabbatical during which everything you want to back but at the very best can only afford a fraction of normal stakes, wins.

Moreover it's something that all lifelong punters are able to take on the chin - never too happy during a good run, never too down during a bad one. If these proposals that these anti gambling lobbying groups are introduced, such as being allowed to lose, say, £200 a month, punters will be sent insane, using up their allowance in the first week then painfully watching from the sidelines as a host of horses in your mental notebook go in without carrying any of your money which you know you could have afforded to bet, but live a life were out of choice having a bank for Cheltenham is a bigger priority than a new three piece suite.

And what of the destruction such measures will inflict on horse racing? Take no notice of those who say racing doesn't need punters to survive. It's not just the levy; media rights would not be worth a box of matches if punters deserted the sport as no one would want to watch racing anymore. Yes, it's fine us genuine racing fans say they can watch racing all day without having a bet, and would happily spend life reading historic racing books, but for the funding of the sport to be maintained at any sort of reasonable level at a time when racing's share of the betting pie continues to decrease, it will not be able to overcome a scenario where affordable limits are imposed.

For starters a majority of racing bettors, probably a significant one too, would just tell any operator to stuff his checks up his jacksie. And even those what comply would, from reduced levels of wagering, have collectively a detrimental affect on the money that can be harvested for the sport.

There exist serial spenders who run up huge debts on their numerous credit cards, buying clothes with the in vogue labels that may be worn just once;  there are amateur stock market players who lose devastating sums by going in heavy on Blue Chip 'investments', the stock market equivalent to big race odds on favourites, then there are those who through lack of knowledge and preparatory research, invest all they have in a franchise that goes backwards.

But the attention is on gambling which is becoming the new smoking. Just like the 'smoking can damage your health'  messages on the sides of a packet of Players No 6, we had the ' bet responsibly' slogans. Then in line with pictures of diseased lungs on the ciggy packets, we had adverts showing angry characters betting, leaving a subliminal message that this was a first step to mental ruin.

In the case of cigarettes, the anti smoking lobbies took a while to really gain control as for literally decades it was slogans and pictures, even the removal of tobacco advertising from sport did not hold any clues to what was around the corner for the banning of smoking in indoor public places including pubs, allied to a price hike out of proportion to previous ones, has set the way for a move to outlaw smoking outdoor, with the ultimate aim of removing cigarettes from the shops.

For those of us old enough to recall aunties and uncles who'd smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day, every day, and who lived to ripe ages, this villifying a habit of choice is a little disturbing even if it will assist the collective health of those it targets.

It appears that the anti gambling brigade have now quickly reached the equivalent of outlawing smoking in public indoor places. And if they are able to install an affordability check system in place they would have reached the same stage in just a few years that the tobacco opponents took decades to reach. 

This is a real worry.And it's so ironic that there are innovations in racing to get the emerging generations involved at the same time that other bodies are brainwashing them on the evils of punting. Have no doubt, the future of this sport is in peril.

Advent has begun so on to some xmas music - this from a talented Belgium singer who is a household name in many mainland European countries. It's from the late 1990's but reverting back to a better time for racing let's pretend it was released the weekend when Bregawn beat Captain John in the 1982 Hennessey.