Mike Cattermole column on Stradivarius, Hayley Moore and FOBT's

BRITBET OR BITBET?

Britbet, the new racecourse-based pool betting operation, is due to be launched in July after the existing Tote licence expires on the 12th of that month.

But the operation’s run up to lift-off has hardly been a smooth one with arguments breaking out between RMG and ARC, who are jointly responsible for the vast majority of the racecourses who have signed up.

Now just this week, it has emerged that Alizeti Capital, a consortium of investors who are due to take over the Totepool from Betfred in phases over the next few years - and thus have the right to operate pool betting in the High Street and away from the Britbet racecourses - has approached Britbet to see whether there is any scope for the two pool operations to work together.

This has come rather late in the day, sure, but Betfred's Fred Done was not interested in throwing out such an olive branch and this newly available option is rightly being considered by the Britbet board.

Common sense dictates that it should happen. After all, can anybody see racing providing the liquidity in these troubled times to host two separate betting pool operations?

Overall, the whole thing is such a shambles. There should be one single pool betting operation in the UK, like most grown-up racing countries. The fact that this is not already a given had many foreign delegates shaking their heads in disbelief at the recent Asian Racing Conference.

Perhaps the Alizeti approach is the first step towards this. I hope so.

FOBT'S – GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

Especially because racing is going to have a funding issue on its hands very soon, unless bookmakers turnover is not maintained in the coming years.

The pressure is on because of the decision last week to reduce the maximum bet on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to £2, surely the right and only decision from a social point of view. Not for no reason have the FOBT’s been labelled the "crack cocaine" of gambling.

Racing, meanwhile, was reaping the profits from those machines for the best part of the last 20 years and now that will cease. As the overall turnover goes down – as it inevitably will - betting shops will struggle to pay the media rights (the right to show racing) and some will be forced to close.

So, will this be a new era for bookmakers? The chance to go back to becoming old-fashioned layers again? With proper competition and the laying of proper bet?

Or will it go to the other extreme and spell the end of the betting shop era?

At the moment, most gambling advertisements focus on the on-line products, which are growing and growing. I wonder how many people have got themselves into deep trouble over the various gaming and casino commodities? I don't have the figures but it is likely to make the number of FOBT addicts look small fry in comparison.

Something should be done to police this. The bookmakers meanwhile might be trying a little harder to get their clients back into the betting shops, many of which are in need of some refurbishment anyway. That alone might be a start.

STRADIVARIUS ON TARGET FOR £1M STAYING BONUS

Stradivarius could not have impressed more with the manner of his win in the Yorkshire Cup and the dream of landing the £1m bonus offered by Weatherbys Hamilton for winning that, the Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup, is very much alive.

It will provide an interesting narrative but I am still curious to know why and how the Doncaster Cup has missed out on being included in this series. The Doncaster Cup has a greater heritage than any other staying race – it was founded in 1766, more than 40 years before the first Ascot Gold Cup.

Five staying Cups in one season is probably too big an ask, in which case why has the Lonsdale Cup, which only became a Cup race in 2004, been favoured given that York already plays a part of the series with the Yorkshire Cup?

Politics will be involved somewhere but I can’t help feeling a little sorry for Doncaster these days. It is absurd that its start and finish to the season, which includes races such as the Lincoln and Racing Post Trophy, are not even a part of the "official" Flat campaign any more.

HAYLEY MOORE - HEROINE OF THE HOUR

Hayley Moore’s heroics in deliberately facing up to and catching the loose horse at Chepstow on Tuesday has no doubt been seen all over the world.

Hayley was knocked to the ground by the appropriately named Give Em A Clump but somehow clung onto the reins and brought him to a halt.

Sure, she was lucky not to get injured and it was probably a foolish thing to do - for most of us, at least. For her, though, it was an instinctive act – one of bravery and great skill. As they so often say, "please don’t try this at home!"

Hayley has grown up with horses and knew exactly what she was doing. The cool part for me was her getting up with no fuss, patting the horse and then immediately taking off the saddle as if nothing untoward had happened. Impressive!

Hayley has been involved with ATR for a number of years now, previously behind the scenes in the production gallery, before leaving for a few years to work for her father Gary and then returning in a new guise as a slick and highly knowledgeable presenter. There is not much she can’t do, to be honest.

These days, she goes out with fellow ATR presenter Martin Kelly and after witnessing her Chepstow fortitude, I would imagine that "Kello" will be extra careful not step out of line himself when his better half is near.

DERBY COUNTY – LOOKING FOR YET ANOTHER MANAGER

There was a sense of inevitability on hearing that manager Gary Rowett had asked Derby County for permission to talk to Stoke City.

Rowett has duly left a club with no money for a rival one up the road willing to splash the cash and probably able give him a much better personal deal, too. It’s what happens these days.

If you include caretaker managers, Rowett was Derby’s 12th boss since Billy Davies steered them to the Premier League, via the play-offs, in 2007.

In fact, I don’t believe The Rams have moved forward one inch under chairman Mel Morris since sacking Nigel Clough in September, 2013. Clough was there for over four and a half years – a lifetime in this fickle day and age.

Derby did their best against Fulham in the recent play-off semi-final but were beaten by far the better team. They are in desperate need of fresh legs and some new recruits into their ageing squad.

But there are no signs of any spending going on any time soon.

They look like staying in the Championship for a while yet – and even that might be the best-case scenario.

EMERY FOR THE EMIRATES

Giving the manager's job to Mikel Arteta may still happen one day at Arsenal but surely now was a few years too early.

Like Arteta, Unai Emery is also from the Basque Country and looks like a decent appointment on paper. He is 10 years older than Arteta but has that vital experience with very good track records at big clubs like Valencia, Sevilla and Paris St Germain.

Incidentally, how on earth do you lose your job after winning the domestic treble there? That's the price Emery paid for not winning the Champions League at PSG. He won't be sacked for those reasons at the Arsenal!

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