WA On Course Bookmakers and 6PR Radio Announcers

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 2

We have two of them. An interesting combination of vocations.

Bushbookie · January 2

Anything Bookie , I gots to know Slip. Names and Stations please and any controversies about Racing they've discussed or bought up lately .

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 2

Steve Mills (Millsie) is the 6PR breakfast announcer and the other is a temp in the afternoon but name escapes me No both play it safe and are positive on the racing front

Bushbookie · January 3

Hey Slip, was in West Oz 2 weeks ago and spent sat arvo out at Ascot . How come Millsy was 'nt fielding or does he just do the Bush Cup meets like me in Qld .

psycho · January 3

Bushbookie said:
Hey Slip, was in West Oz 2 weeks ago and spent sat arvo out at Ascot . How come Millsy was 'nt fielding or does he just do the Bush Cup meets like me in Qld .

He may well have been in the members area, he's been there most Saturdays

bookielover · January 3

I know he fields at York, that's where I last saw him. I believe he picks and chooses where he can get an earn. He's not on his own there. A lot of bookies in Victoria do the same. One Melbourne rails bookie recently fielded at a Picnic meeting. They are Non Tab and you can get up to 5,000 there. There are between 6-12 bookies in the ring, depending on the meeting, Balnarring 12, Merton 6, and the bookies have a captive audience and a nice percentage to boot.

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 3

Millsie loves a nice drive so has also fielded at Narrogin and Albany as well as Bunbury etc. Psych may be correct regarding the Members area

Bushbookie · January 3

Yep Thanks fellas , would have loved to talk to millsy about everything about modern day bookmaking , types of modern day rarely seen on course punters who bet with bookies , bookies future , Cashes future in Oz , how much his clerks paid and the main one - How the Hell do we convince a on course punter sitting on his stool 10 metres from a Bookie comparing the Corps and On Course Bookies odds on his mobile to get up , walk over and bet with bookie when the odds are the same on the punters selection .

Bushbookie · January 3

Know this a racing site but just looking on google earth at Bridgetown ,Western Australia . Its the # 1 Rural Town I really liked , beaut drive down the escarpment across the Bridge on a Thursday arvo and up the main Street and the Place was absolutely buzzing , People on the streets , drinking and eating in all cafes and restuarants and a 10 minute traffic jam . OK I'm thinking , People must drive down from Perth doing the tourist thing weekly . But looking at Google Earth Bridgetown is Booming with outlying suburbs and estates all around it .Before i seen it , I just thought it was a sleepy rural historical town catering for local farmers and graziers . Whats to go with its much larger population then it should have if in Qld . Is it a Old Peoples Retirement Town like Hervey Bay in Qld these days .

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 3

Bridgetown number one hired video in the day and number one purchased movie DVD...Deliverance!!!! :D

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 3

Bushbookie said:
would have loved to talk to millsy about everything about modern day bookmaking , types of modern day rarely seen on course punters who bet with bookies , bookies future , Cashes future in Oz , how much his clerks paid and the main one - How the Hell do we convince a on course punter sitting on his stool 10 metres from a Bookie comparing the Corps and On Course Bookies odds on his mobile to get up , walk over and bet with bookie when the odds are the same on the punters selection .

You could try emailing him at steve.mills@nine.com.au Steve is very amiable

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 3

Think the only chance the bookies have is perseverance and for clubs to keep standing them and of course there’s a market for them still ( excuse pun ).

I’m still getting my head around decimals - give me 6/4 7/2 etc any day and i flunked maths 4 but did know after a little while mind you that 7/4 was better for the hip pocket than 13/8.

And when taking odds on 8/13 was better than 4/7.

However the way those bookmakers worked out the fractions in there head almost instantly still amazes. That’s another level of maths expertise.

DamienWyer · January 3

He approached me once in the car park at Belmont after the meeting had started. He wanted to tell me my public stance on the Belmont redevelopment was all wrong.

Awful judge of reality it would seem.

savethegame · January 3

There has never been a better allrounder then Steve Mills his efforts and devotion for Golden Mile Trotting Club in his time in Goldfields plus his ideas. Creation of annual horse raffle which allowed the club to reach over 650 members, New Year Eve entertainment was nonstop, after last race Yogi Bear Fat Cat, Father Christmas etc would race, horse & carts---Steve also excellent race caller, plus as M,C has no peer, plus never forget his one on one interview with legendary harness driver Gavin Lang,, didn't miss getting everything & anything outta G.Lang

Only bookie i hope wins.

Markovina · January 4

A bit sad reading this , you know early to mid 80s pro punting i was out at Ascot each Saturday and it was a delight to be their

Russell Roberts in the local ring was easily the best dressed bookie , allways in a suit and tie

Can someone explain the local WA Bookies rule re concession betting , i never unferstood it

How concession betting worked , if you backed a horse and it ran a place you got your money back , however if there was an odds on favourite in that race you didnt get all your money back there was a deduction

For example i had a very nice win on a sprinter Mr Magic , trained by Cyril Beechey and it loved Caulfield . I backed it at 5 to 1 concession , it sat outside a 3 yr old Lloyd Williams/John Meagher horse a 9 to 4 On fave , take 4/9 .old Mr Magic absolutely crushed it and in doing so broke the long standing 1200 metre Caulfield track/course record

Say i put $400 on Mr Magic and it only ran a place , can someone tell me the mathematical deduction , given the odds above , under the local rule i would not have got back all my $400 because there was an odds on favourite in the race

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 4

Never heard that before Marko but you could be right - thought concession betting the price you took was the price you got and received all your money back if placed. Odds on fave in the race could’ve been different rules but don’t recall any deduction. Rarely had a bet concession in saying that.

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 4

No I don't recall that either but likewise I had no interest in concession wagers

Markovina · January 4

Ridersonthestorm33 said:
Never heard that before Marko but you could be right - thought concession betting the price you took was the price you got and received all your money back if placed. Odds on fave in the race could’ve been different rules but don’t recall any deduction. Rarely had a bet concession in saying that.

Bob Howat the former West Perth footballer and Ascot bookmaker tried to explain it to me one day , but i couldnt understand it , and i went allright with the Maths 1 and 2 at school

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 4

Marko maybeeeee their was a late scratching or something like that, no that shouldn’t make any difference - concession - money back is money back.

Although if say a fancied runner is scratched at the barrier ok there’s a deduction on the win of course in concession betting…but does that mean too if run a place your horse was more favoured to run at least a place after the scratching hence a deduction.

No i don’t think so.

Today the corporates call that bet - insurance.

Bushbookie · January 5

Yep the old concession betting . Was very popular in South Australia in the Mid 70s where 80% of the Bookies bet this style . In Qld , very every rare to see on any race or dog track . Con Searles had a seperate board set up on it for a while but it never took off in qld . It was explained to this bookie by my dad how it works 50 years ago . In a 8 horse or greyhound race Concession odds are 5/8 ths of the odds on a win/ place board . A Concession bet of $20 on a horse is basically what you would win on a $10 e/w on the horse at win/place odds . IE If you place $10 e/w on a horse at $5.00 the bet is $40 /$10 the win and $10/$10 the place , so the combined bet is $50/$20 . So its a $3.50 odds bet which is 5/8 of $5.00. If the win odds were $9.00 and you had $10 e/w the win bet is $80 / $10 and the place is $20/$10 , so your combined bet is $100 /$20 which is $6.00 . This is how Concession odds are worked out fairly . Yep the danger is percentage when their is a odds on favorite in the race as each way bookies in the past often put up their Win Only Signs because often place percentage dropped below the %300 break even mark . The same with concession bookies if their was a odds on fav in race would put up 1/2 win odds then . Bookielover will explain it 1000 times better when he posts

Gilgamesh · January 5

Russell collett

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 5

Spot on Gilga. I knew he had same name as an actress but then I couldn't remember which actress. 8-} I think 6PR use him off the substitute bench

SLIPPERGOLDEN · January 5

Any of you my vintage recall when there were only radio broadcasts but in 1977 there was a strike and we only knew the result when the TAB operator put it up on the board. 6IX may have broadcast races at the time before 6PR

savethegame · January 5

January 1977 6IX Made decision to discontinue broadcasts of country meetings& greyhounds.

6IX believed it was being inadequately paid by the TAB for the service. Don't know the end result,

JayJay · January 5

It was early 1977 when 6IX threw the cat in the canary cage over the question of fees for for the broadcasting services. Station Management claimed that the cost of the service far exceeded the annual payment they received of $30,000.

They decided to discontinue midweek and country racing and trotting broadcasts, along with interstate meetings. The TAB Chairman of the day, Harry Jarman, pointed out that no other betting jurisdiction Australia wide had to pay fees to radio stations. What he didn't point out was that distances to outer meetings in WA were exponentially greater in WA. He stated that there were multiple radio outlets in teh Eastern States "clamouring for the opportunity to provide cover".

Negotiations broke down completely and the TAB Board applied to the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal for a broadcast license. In March, it heralded a switch from 6IX to 6PR by acquiring a 25% stake of 6PR. In April, the Board sold it's interest in 6PR but retained shares in the land on which the station stood.

They could make a TV series....."TAB Radio Revisited". History continues to repeat itself and administrators learn nothing from repeated folly.

Although the ABC continued it's coverage of Metropolitan meetings, there was never a suggestion that their coverage should be extended to include midweek or country meetings. They could have...George never missed a meeting and was omnipresent on course throughout that period with Rod White and himself often riding shotgun to the meetings with FRK.

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 8

Nothing better than listening to race and trot broadcasts on the ABC by Max Simmonds and George G they were exceptional. Mr. Simmonds he very if ever made a mistake in a photo finish and back then they could come from everywhere in the last 50 metres.

ABC Saturday night race replays during the 7 o’clock news from the studio presented by him were the best - from memory they were from from the corner or top of the straight till the finish and in slow motion too or the concluding stages were ?

He would give a voice over or a summation of the concluding stages, almost calling it over again, just in slower dulcet tones.

That’s how i remember anyway.

bookielover · January 8

Bushbookie and Riders,

I have a rough idea of how concession betting works but as my old man never did it, I'm no expert in it. I always knew that 4/1 straight out became 5/2 concession. So Bush bookie is correct. I used to bet with Bob Howatt in Perth back in the early 90's when he bet concession.

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 8

And bookie where i occasionally had a bet concession and this was the advantage of having a vibrant good sized betting ring and if quick enough if you noticed say a horse being specked around 10/1 and a few perhaps bringing it into around 8/1 and you saw the concession bookie still betting 8/1 or 15/2 then I’d have something providing I liked the horse a bit.

Their were those rare occasions that happened - but was all in the timing of trying to get the best odds.

Also didn’t mean the horse was going to win or even be placed just slanted the “book” a little more the punters way if could find a concession price very close to straight out price.

Today see 10 and $20,000 bets at 3/1 when 9/2 was freely available - that’s a $30,000 difference on a 20k bet!! As you’ve said before though i sometimes doubt if those bets are real to begin with.

Ridersonthestorm33 · January 8

The other thing with concession betting was who wants insurance on a racetrack ?!!

You win or you lose, live or die trying…overall didn’t see the point of betting concession however if got the right odds ( all subjective ) then it was good and yes recall more late 70’s and 80’s that type of betting being quite popular in WA.

Markovina · January 8

bookielover said:
Bushbookie and Riders,
I have a rough idea of how concession betting works but as my old man never did it, I'm no expert in it. I always knew that 4/1 straight out became 5/2 concession. So Bush bookie is correct. I used to bet with Bob Howatt in Perth back in the early 90's when he bet concession.

I loved concession betting , if you are betting for your living , then with every bet you must reduce the chance with every bet of losing that betting stake

If something is 3-1 straight out , then you back it every day of the week at 7 to 4 concession , with money back 2nd or 3rd

There are 2 sets of punters who are certain to eventually go broke and they are win only punters and Casino punters

Rodent · January 8

@Markovina do you bet for a living?

G'day Punter!

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