Dead on the Board

[Barry Irwin]

Interesting story re Betfair betting exchange, which brings a whole new meaning to the phrase \"dead on the board.\"

BETFAIR, the internet\'s principal betting exchange, is to poll its 40,000 racing customers over possible changes to its ante-post markets, following controversy in the wake of the fatal injury to Best Mate at Exeter earlier this month.

During a four-minute period until the market on next March\'s Gold Cup was suspended, a number of Betfair clients laid bets on Best Mate which had been left on the site, knowing that the horse was almost certainly dead. There have been similar incidents in the past.

The fact that a small number of users were prepared to take cynical advantage of a fatal injury was a cause for concern for many of the exchange\'s clients, while the company itself is aware that such incidents might damage its public image.

As a result, its 40,000 racing customers will receive an e-mail within a few days to poll opinion on four possible options for ante-post markets when horses are killed.

One option is simply to leave things as they are, while others are to allow trading only in set periods of the day - ie before and after racing - or to suspend the markets on major races when leading contenders are running in trials.

Finally, the exchange might set a point, as close to the time of death as possible, after which all bets on a horse would be declared void, although \"innocent\" bets might be caught up in this process.

\"We will listen to what our customers have to say,\" Tony Calvin, Betfair\'s spokesman, said yesterday. \"Our site is all about free trade, and it is always a tricky situation when you are stepping into that process, particularly if there is no definite time of death for the horse involved.

\"But at the same time, it strikes at the heart of betting when bets are being struck when there is no possibility that they can be winners.\"