16/04/13
It seems to me as an outsider looking in that the incompetence that is Tattsbet just continues on unabated. As per several stories I’ve penned here in the last 12 to 24 months, Tattsbet just continues to, in racing parlance, be under the whip going nowhere. In fact it’s akin to flogging a dead horse.
There they were again last Saturday – on a feature race day down south – and they encountered yet another of their trademark computer problem which has cost the industry as a whole a fortune in lost TAB turnover. Every business will encounter the odd hiccup along the path of life but many punters consider Tattsbet to be one permanent hiccup. The Courier Mail reported yesterday that “Tattsbet has issued an apology after another computer glitch left thousands of customers unable to place a bet for several hours last Saturday”. The article went on to say “Tattsbet feared the entire system could crash and chose not to rectify the problem until thoroughbred meetings on the east coast had ended”.
Tattsbet’s “apology” is appreciated as step one in rectifying a problem is to at least acknowledge that a problem exists in the first place, but in reality that’s all Tattsbet ever does – apologize for their own ineptness. Tattsbet should have had a relatively easy day last Saturday, given that the Brisbane meeting at Eagle Farm was called off soon after 6am. Naturally this website was besieged by readers wishing to have their say on just how pathetic Tattsbet’s record is with computer dramas on big race days and typical of the emails that came in was this one, but I must say his email at least had a twist, in that he physically drove to Tattsbet headquarters at Albion to take up the case.
His email read:
I couldn’t use my computer or mobile phone to access Unitab. My balance information disappeared from mobile phone app. Last time this happened which was around Melbourne Cup time, it double recorded bets, etc. I only bet in small amounts. I was so annoyed that I hopped into my car and went to TAB headquarters at Albion. (The rest of the website reader’s email remains confidential to the writer, Tattsbet’s Brad Tamer and myself, as I don’t wish to embarrass Tattsbet publicly any further over the matter, but can you people just get it right in Carnival times in the future for everyone’s sake, then I won’t have to make any comment?)
Another email writer said in part “Perhaps Tattsbet could frame a fixed price market on the meeting/race that the computer crashes. Punters bet on any number of things these days, so I am sure there would be interest and you would be guaranteed a collect”.
On the subject of Tattsbet I can’t believe that in their quest to supply punters with a new bet type, some Einstein or Einsteins came up with the brainwave idea called a Triple Trio. Now as far as I’m concerned it’s about as exciting as watching grass grow and clearly Tattsbet hierarchy has not thought this one through at all – in my humble opinion. Let me explain why.
The aim of Triple Trio is that obviously every race ever run with three runners or more that finish the race has to have three placegetters. So the punter has to work out what he or she thinks will run the placings and add up the sum total of the three numbers of the runners that he or she think will run first, second and third in a race. Pretty straight forward, so say Billy thinks number 12 will win from number 11 to run second and number 10 will run third that means 33 is the result (12 +11 + 10), even if they finish in a different order of say 10, 11 and 12. So the associated photograph that goes with the story (above) shows a Triple Trio market up last Saturday on a race at Randwick – and if you can’t read it properly this was the market on that particular race.
NUMBERS
PRICE
6-12
$3.60
13-16
$4.70
17-19
$4.80
20-21
$7.00
22-24
$6.50
25+
$4.80
Now Triple Trio markets I fancy I heard are restricted to races with a fixed odds market operating on them, which is good because we don’t have to endure this rot for every race. What Tattsbet has failed to understand though before introducing this bet type is that the young kids coming through school today can’t even add up unless they have a calculator. Ask them to add one and one and they may well come up with “eleven” or two and two may equal “22” and so on. So many in our society have a problem with adding two numbers – let alone three numbers. Imagine if the till didn’t tell the checkout chic at Woolies how much change she had to give the customer after she’s scanned all their purchased items? It would be easier to solve the Rubix Cube blindfolded than some of today’s young people trying to work out a simple sum. We even have problems in the racing industry with the simple task of “counting” as numerous jockeys obviously cannot count – judging by the number of fines for overuse of the whip. It’s pretty straight forward stuff that “counting” and is hardly rocket science as it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etcetera, but it’s clearly beyond some of them. If they paid attention in Grade 1 at school they’d have surely got a handle on it by now. In fact in modern schools these days some kids would be more likely to be assaulting the teacher – or the bus driver on the way to school – rather than worrying about being able to add three numbers like 5, 7 and 18 in their head as the horses charge to the finish in say the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick last Saturday when Arinosa (5) beat Miss Stellabelle (7) and Forarainyday (18). Apart from most of society needing a calculator to be able to add up three numbers, well without quick reference to a Form Guide, how the hell does a punter know what number the various horses are as they approach the finish line? In short they wouldn’t have a clue, as the numbers aren’t up on the Sky Channel or TVN screen as the horses approach the finish line, so they are all betting blind. How riveting? If Triple Trio takes off I’ll nominate myself for Mr Universe next year and I may well “do a Hugh Hefner” and leave my current missus and find some 20-year-old glam.
If Tattsbet want to introduce a new bet type why don’t they ask their customers for some ideas and the winner gets $5,000 or something constructive. Get out to the coalface of the industry and ask some people their thoughts. I mean we have a Treble which is picking three winners and a Quadrella which is picking four winners and then we have a Big 6 down south and all three of those bet types are very popular. What’s wrong with introducing a bet type that picks five winners and call it a “Handful” or whatever? If we have a product to pick three, four and six winners – why has five winners been overlooked to this point? Have we got cross code All-Up’s yet? Why not? Why can’t I have an All-Up of a horse to win the fifth at Rosehill and a pacer to win the first at Albion Park? Why is that beyond comprehension given that man allegedly walked on the moon 44 years ago?
Another interesting point from the racing industry last week was the distinct lack of big syndicates buying at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. Without going into specific cases, I wonder if recent Justracing articles on the dreadful losses incurred by the majority of people investing in this area have finally made a mark on readers – who are now reticent to get involved in the generally financially debilitating pastime of buying yearling shares.
This website constantly mentions the “mugs” that back odds-on equine or canine athletes, but it has also regularly highlighted the fact that whilst backing odds-on favourites for a win is a long term wealth hazard, as you’ll never beat the house, it can be financially viable to bet into exotic pools around these odds-on favourites and to that end here is my preview of Race 9 at Randwick last Saturday to my Saturday Morning Mail clients.
RANDWICK Race 9 – 5:10PM T J SMITH STAKES (1200 METRES)
HORSE
COMMENT
HAY LIST
A classy sprinter but he hasn’t won a race anywhere for the last 56 weeks and simply needs more racing to get fit. Blinkers come off and the winkers go on again today.
BEL SPRINTER
Ran ninth at only start here in a field of 14 at 3/1 on 21/4/12. Put in an extraordinary effort resuming from 20 weeks off at Rosehill on 30/3/13 but whilst he’s won five of five first up his second up record is ordinary, as he’s only won one of three.
RAIN AFFAIR
Hasn’t won a race anywhere for the last 54 weeks but adores Randwick and adores dead tracks, so should give some cheek for a while.
DECISION TIME
His two runs back from 75 weeks off have resulted in him being placed in very fast overall time on both occasions. Has never missed a place at Randwick and has won four of seven on dead tracks, so he should be hard to beat.
ATOMIC FORCE
Way out of his league here.
TITLE
Won three of four at Randwick and three of seven on dead tracks and could get into the placings here at cricket score odds.
HOWMUCHDOYOULOVEME
Resumed from 18 weeks off with a good third to Snitzerland in track record time at Warwick Farm but then ran a dismal 12th to Bel Sprinter last time out – so no.
ONTHELOOKOUT
Hasn’t won a race anywhere in the last 59 weeks and won’t buck that trend here.
BLACK CAVIAR
Champion mare going for 25 in a row and picks herself.
SEA SIREN
Grossly disappointing when resuming from 15 weeks off behind Bel Sprinter on 30/3/13 but on her day she’s top class and could run into a hole.
EPAULETTE
Third to worldbeaters All Too Hard and Pierro in the Caulfield Guineas last year after splitting the pair first up last time in, in the The Run To The Rose when Pierro won and All Too Hard ran fifth. You’d like to be on either of those two good horses to run a place here. Plus he’s in a top stable so don’t dismiss him at cricket score odds.
Additional comments: Black Caviar picks herself. If I had to pick second and third I’d suggest two of Rain Affair, Bel Sprinter, Decision Time, or Epaulette would fill the placings.
The First 4 of Black Caviar, Epaulette, Bel Sprinter and Rain Affair paid $233 for a $1 unit on Tattsbet and it would have cost $24 to take a First 4 from the information in the “Additional comments” section. So picking the three placegetters that finished behind Black Caviar equated to getting just on 10/1 about Black Caviar, a far better result than her $1.14 starting price and myself and my Saturday Morning Mail clients never had to have so much as one dollar a win on an odds-on chance to achieve that result. For the record, the other horse that I advised to include, Decision Time, ran sixth. Unfortunately Sea Siren got in the road or the first five across the line would have been correctly selected.
On a positive note the Gold Coast Harness Racing Club at Parklands conducted their first Friday afternoon meeting for ages last Friday and it was popular with punters as on Tattsbet the turnover on the meeting was up a healthy 24% on “the average of last calendar year’s Friday night meetings”, so that was good to see, particularly in view of the fact that there were only seven races run last Friday afternoon. The next four Friday’s have a 6pm finish and hopefully an eight race card, so it would seem it’s all onwards and upwards.