Horse Racing

More than $1.67 billion dollars is expected to be wagered on the four-day Flemington Spring Racing Carnival which begins this Saturday.

Kicking off with the Victoria Derby Day, this year’s four-day carnival is likely to produce a new betting record with punters wagering over $230 million on the Melbourne Cup alone.

However it will be this Saturday’s nine races including five Group One events which will produce the biggest turnover in bets.

During the Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Crown Oaks Day and Emirates Stakes Day, bookmakers will take in an estimated 159 million bets.

With more and more punters becoming tech-savvy, trackside bookmakers are being pushed aside for online bookmakers and it is predicted that by 2014, trackside bookies will produce less than three percent of the total racing turnover each year.

But whichever way the betting industry turns, it doesn’t seem like the Flemington Racing Carnival will be in any financial trouble in the coming years.