MY CALL - BOOKMAKING PROFESSION MIGHT BECOME EXTINCT AT BRISBANE TRACKS WITHIN A DECADE

By David Fowler | Tuesday, June 28, 2011

David Fowler is the principal thoroughbred caller for Radio TAB, taking the position upon Wayne Wilson's retirement last August. David, who is a keen form student and punter, has enjoyed a lifetime involvement in the racing media. His personal blog, ‘My Call’, appears exclusively on HRO.

Andy Pippos swings the satchel for the last time at Eagle Farm tomorrow.

And his retirement sees a small but integral part of the bookmaking culture leaving Brisbane's ranks.

Bookmaking at Brisbane tracks is becoming a dying profession. It’s quite sad.

You can't blame the veterans for calling it a day because it's a simple fact that the bookies fight these days is not just against the punter but against their own.

The might of the corporates and the variety of favours afforded to them makes it very hard for your Saturday bookie to compete … and you can throw in the various TABS and their clout for making it less of a necessity to visit the track and your local bookie.

Less than a decade ago we'd head to Doomben or Eagle Farm wondering what price might go up this or that. It added an air of excitement for the day's punt ahead.

But here we are July 2011 and many punters have done their "shopping" with either the TAB's or the corporates which often open markets two or three days before the meeting.

Bookmakers create atmosphere at the racetrack but if the business is not sustainable you can't blame them for pulling the pin.

The concerning sequel to this scenario is there is no new blood on the way through.

So there is a real possibility that the profession might become extinct at the Brisbane tracks within a decade.

Don't laugh. No bookmaker at Albion Park trots or Albion Park dogs these days. Would you have believed that 10 years ago?

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I'd go as far as to say Andy Pippos was the last showman of the Brisbane bookmaking ring.

Always tailored to the nines, Saturday or midweek, he was the last one left to still occasionally call the odds.

A career that spanned over four decades and three codes, Pippos was arguably the busiest bookmaker in the eighties working up to six and seven meetings a week.

But he thrived on the racetrack atmosphere.

He entertained his share of big gamblers over the years but showed the same flair and interest to the little old lady wanting her five or ten dollars each way.

He will be sorely missed.

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Are there too many Cups?

One would think the Brisbane Cup is our staying Grand Final yet after that we have the Ipswich Cup, Tattersall's Cup and Caloundra Cup, not forgetting next month's Grafton Cup.

With the staying talent thin on the ground in quality and quantity, these races post Brisbane Cup tend to suffer.

I reckon an idea worth trying is a Championship series with heats at provincial tracks with a Grand Final at either Doomben or Eagle Farm.

And cater for a middle of the road class. After all, the top end of town have had their fair share over the past six weeks.

Something worth thinking about.

Until next week.

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