Memorandum submitted by Angus Crichton-Miller
I read with great interest the coverage of the
inquiry regarding on-course bookmakers' pitches which you chaired.
I was deeply involved in the administration
of horseracing from 1997-2001. During that period I was Chairman
of the Racecourse Association and a member of both the British
Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB).
It was during that period that the National Joint Pitch Council
(NJPC) was formed and the first sale of bookmakers' positions
took place. I actually attended the first sale, which was at Sandown
Park in December 1998.
My reason for writing is straightforward. As
someone who knew exactly what the issues were at that time, not
least the crucial matter of security of tenure, I cannot sit idly
by while, at least according to the Racing Post, various bookmakers
and others, including Clive Reams, claim that potential buyers
were assured that any pitches bought would enjoy the same rights
as those then enjoyed in perpetuity. That is an extremely serious
lie that needs to be challenged. At no stage did the Levy Board
or NJPC make any such commitment. Indeed, at the first sale, the
question of security of tenure was raised. The answer given was
that no guarantee could be given, and that, effectively, any purchaser
was merely putting themselves in the same position as the bookmaker
whose rights he/she was acquiring.
The bookmakers who bought pitches at the sale
knew they were not acquiring property rights. They knew that they
were taking a chance and had to take a view about the value of
what they were buying. That view would have taken into account
not only the limited rights, but the future of the individual
racecourses and the prospects for on-course bookmaking in general.
One can't think of people better qualified to calculate the odds!
I have no desire to get involved in the question
of what should now happen, but I did not want the Select Committee
to be blatantly misled on a point which is fundamental to any
deliberation of the matter.
November 2007
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