An unusual headline in the context of writing for an equine platform one would feel. The sport which has given so much to many of us, which is why this title may come as an initial source of curiosity for many. 

The sport itself is a positive platform for socialising, exercise, bonding with the animal etc, the gambling end of it can be classed as having a negative stain on the sport. To truly understand the complexity of this question above, we must first look at the human psyche toward gambling in the sport. As a species, we are naturally disposed to working less while in turn making more. In theory, gambling fits this analogy ideally. The idea where a person can walk into a high street bookmaker or online and double or triple their wages in the space of a few minutes defines work smarter not harder in theory. The gambling industry has evolved from a dingy back alley cramped and smoky outlet to one where it is now seen as the social norm to walk into a bookmaker to have a punt, teas coffees, snacks all to keep the punter in and extract as much from the punter as possible. Larger Bookmakers are now seeking highly qualified and skilled marketers to use subtle imagery on TV, banner adverts on the internet, to hook the audience, initial €10 free bet but an online account has to be set up. The lucky paddy power jocks, all great marketing ploys to feed into ‘gambling responsibly’

The bookmakers are blazed across top trainer’s jackets, hoarding noted in trainer’s yards and still, we debate if this is a conflict of interest? The Cheltenham Festival has just passed and for many families and individuals, it has not been one of excitement but worry. The temptation of many a gambler, as it is such a high-profile festival it is seen as more socially acceptable to gamble excessively for the few days, after all, it is only a bit of ‘craic’. The racing industry survives on the investment by the bookmakers and there is no denying without this large investment the sport would not survive. What I am focusing on here is what is not typically seen by the naked eye. Gambling is a modern epidemic, especially amongst young males in Ireland, with countless stories in the media highlighting same. It is an Irish institution, the pub, post office, church, and bookies. 

The bookmakers hire specialists in human psychology to maximise impact on their adverts,

specific colours, tones of voice, down to minute details. With the onset of the pandemic and the

cancellation of the 2020 Grand National, the virtual grand national was aired to give the punter their fix, while billed as a charity raising exercise the bookmakers knew this was a cash cow. Gambling on caricatures on a screen seems bizarre to many but for others, this is a daily experience, hence no downtime. If one only gambles on a specific sport such as Horse Racing with all the countries cards flat, national hunt, etc there is little downtime if any, and coupled with this virtual racing will always be there for those who need a fix. 

Kevin Blake’s recent image shared on Paddy powers banner prior to Irish flying off from Dublin Airport to Cheltenham titled ‘The Irish are coming’ gives us all a patriotic feeling and bygone festivals of Irish success but again a subtle undertone to feeding into many psyche – the luck of the Irish in Cheltenham.

It’s the old adage, everything in moderation, the odd flutter like anything is no harm. Those who are making gains many a time are banned from betting and accounts shut hence can you really beat the bookmaker? Proceed with caution while still enjoying all that racing has to offer.