Stand in the parade ring at Fakenham on a cold January afternoon and you will see plenty that would be familiar to your father. Bookmakers chalking boards albeit they are now digital, punters studying form in the Racing Post, conversations about going and trainers that have been happening in exactly the same way for fifty years.
What has changed, though nobody much likes admitting it, is the phones. Half the crowd seems to have one out between races, tapping away at something or other. Betting has gone digital whether traditional racing folk approve or not.
The Old Ways Endure
Thank goodness on-course bookmakers still operate at proper jump racing courses. The skill of watching them work, adjusting prices as money comes in, the theatre of it all, remains central to race day atmosphere. Regulars know which bookies to trust, which offer fair prices, which settle up promptly. But the ring is a shadow of its former self, even if events like next week’s Festival will see good business transacted through the ring.
A combination of factors have conspired against on-course layers. Racecourses have driven turnover toward their own totes, where a revenue share model gives a better return; the manipulation of prices by the off-course major firms prevents any on-course layer from taking a view on pricing a horse; the next generation of bookmakers is more likely to create their own app than trudge to draughty racecourses; whilst the reduction in use of cash has also played its part.
The social side matters just as much. Groups meeting in the bar before racing, discussing form over a pint, arguing the merits of different trainers and horses. These are rituals that technology cannot replicate, nor should it try.
Phones at the Races
The reality, uncomfortable as some find it, is that younger racegoers treat betting apps as normal. They will back a horse with an on-course bookie for the tradition of it, then check their phone to compare odds elsewhere or place accumulators across multiple meetings. Racing coverage online means they can bet on Fakenham while watching Cheltenham, something impossible even twenty years ago.
Older members may find this rather improper, being at one course while betting on another. But it happens regardless, and courses must accept it or risk losing the younger generation entirely. Away betting has become significant.
Between Seasons
The summer months pose particular challenges for dedicated jump racing followers. Flat racing simply does not appeal to everyone. Some follow horses to point-to-points or travel to summer jumps courses, where the racing may be competitive, but is not of any great quality. Others, particularly those comfortable with technology, explore most popular UK casinos as alternative entertainment during the quiet months. The analytical approach racing people apply to form study translates reasonably well to card games and similar pursuits. It keeps betting skills sharp without requiring devotion to sports one cares nothing about. Whether this represents progress or decline depends entirely on whom you ask.
Bookmakers Must Adapt
Traditional bookmakers face genuine pressure from technology but the good ones have adapted sensibly. Several on-course bookies now run apps alongside their pitch operations, allowing regular customers to bet with them remotely during the week. Others focus on personal service and fair dealing, qualities apps cannot replicate.
And of course smaller operators can choose to take a bet where the shops would cap their exposure. If you’ve ever tried to stake more than £100 in a betting shop, you’ll understand these levels are already quite low.
Those bookies who simply complain about change will not survive. Those who embrace what technology offers while maintaining standards of the old ways manage quite well.
What Fakenham Represents
Grass roots courses like Fakenham matter enormously to British jump racing. They represent tradition, community, and the sport in its purest form. Technology changes how people bet but cannot change what makes these courses special. The challenge is accommodating modern behaviour without sacrificing atmosphere and heritage.
Proper racing people understand this instinctively. Technology serves the sport, not the reverse, an objective that those introducing AI would do well to understand.
Race day betting at British jump racing courses will continue evolving whether we like it or not. The phones are not going away, nor are the apps. What matters is preserving the elements that make racing special while accepting changes that genuinely improve access and convenience.
Fakenham in 2026 blends old and new in ways that would have seemed impossible thirty years ago. With care and good sense, it will continue doing so for another thirty.
Content provided by Peter McNeile
