Savill’s Legacy
Fearing increased corruption in racing brought on by online gaming sites, the recently retired British Horseracing Board chairman Peter Savill proposed a “banding system” over the weekend, which “would create different divisions of horse racing — with prize money depreciating significantly in the lower divisions.” Said Savill, “The issue is largely about the betting exchanges. I’m fundamentally opposed to the concept of betting exchanges because I think sport is about winning. To have people cheering on a racecourse because a horse is getting beaten is anathema to the whole concept of what sport is about” (Online Casino News). It’s Savill’s attitude to the betting exchanges that will determine his legacy, writes J.A. McGrath in London’s The Telegraph: “In the short term, Peter Savill will be remembered as the chairman who took racing to a level of prosperity it deserved, and he should be thanked for that. But it will be how betting exchanges develop from this point — and how that development affects racing — that will determine whether Savill was truly a man with vision.”
