Missing: the ladies who love a flutter

13 April 2012

During their research into setting up the Discover Racing venture the promotion team uncovered the facts that 40 per cent of racegoers are women and that horseracing is the most televised sport - after football - on terrestrial channels with 38 per cent of racing TV viewers being female.

Which begs the question . . . that if the fairer sex love the game so much, why are there virtually no female professional punters? Is there something lacking in their feminine psyche that prevents them from taking calculated risks? Heaven knows, they take enough of them in love, but making a living out of backing horses does not seem to stir their hormones.

Perhaps the only woman who ever got close was the Hon Dorothy Paget (1905-1962), a daughter of Lord Queen-borough and a member of the wealthy Whitney family. She owned racehorses, notably the prolific Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Golden Miller, who also won the Grand National of 1934, and 1943 war-time Derby hero Straight Deal.

She backed horses heavily, whether they belonged to her or other people. A student of form, she went to the races to gain knowledge for future betting, not as a social occasion, and always carried £5,000 for that purpose.

Yet she was an eccentric, a one off, who had almost limitless family coffers to dip into, but it is generally thought she left far more cash in the bookies' satchels than she took home with her.

So why is big punting a no-no to women? Television racing pundit John McCririck said: "Women love gambling as much as men - 95 per cent of bingo players are women. But how many women do you see alone in betting shops - very few. At the racecourse most bets placed by them are with the Tote, they seem to be intimidated by bookmakers. It is a social problem and a barrier that we have got to break down. The Discover Racing project has got to confront this problem."

But the statement "there are no female professional punters", is incorrect. William Hill man David Hood said: "We've got one. Of course I can't tell you her name, and she's serious.

"Football, cricket and golf are her main avenues, although she occasionally has a dabble on the horses. A big player, she bets in five figures, is very unusual and stands out from the crowd.

"Generally, women who bet, unless they are an owner, a trainer or a trainer's wife and have the means to have a substantial bet, are pin money types. We find that a few more are going into our shops, which are no longer the old image of male orientation, smoky and dark.

This has coincided with us producing numbers games, comparable to the Lottery. Whereas they get a tenner for matching three numbers on the Lottery, they can win £500 on one of our games.

"We have worked very hard to try and create an environment for women in our shops. They are bright, clean with comfortable seating and, as most of our staff are female, they can relate."

Women tend to be more attracted to betting on televised events. Wimbledon saw an increase in the number of women betting. Tim Henman was a strong female favourite, of course, but Hood said: "The instant that Goran Ivanisevic took his shirt off early in the competition and was plastered all over the tabloids, inspired many women to back him. But still the image of the female punter is of small stakes and each-way betting."

The 40 per cent figure of female attendance at racecourses goes off the dial once a year at Royal Ascot, when the attraction of seeing what other women are wearing draws them to the course. And the fact is that when a woman goes racing, it is usually with a man.

To be a successful professional backer you have to do your homework, keep extensive records and possess a mathematical mind. Most women have families to look after and housework to do, and few have the time to spare for the painstaking study and essential personal handicapping that is the secret of beating the bookies at their own game.

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