| Government to seek bidders for Tote • British Horseracing Authority welcomes minister's statement• Update on progress of sale expected early in the new yearThe future of the Tote, which operates a pool-betting monopoly in the United Kingdom and passes its profits to racing, moved a step closer to being resolved today when John Penrose, the tourism and heritage minister, said that the government will seek bids for the business this autumn.George Osborne, the chancellor, announced in his Budget in June that it is his intention to secure a future for the Tote which "secures value for the taxpayer" while also recognising the contribution that the Tote makes to racing. In a written statement to parliament, Penrose said that "in line with that objective, the government is now preparing to launch an open market process in the late autumn in which it will invite proposals from interested parties."This process will be open to all organisations who have an interest in the Tote and the government expects to be in a position to update the house early in the new year."The government will continue to liaise closely with the board of the Tote and with racing interests as this process unfolds."Nic Coward, the chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said today that the BHA had been in regular contact with the government on the issue."Racing, through the British Horseracing Authority, has been in close dialogue with government about resolving the future of the Tote for a number of months," Coward said. "A creative and modern approach is needed. We look forward to continuing this constructive process, with the interests of racing at its heart, as has been confirmed by the chancellor, the secretary of state and the minister in today's statement, which we welcome."If the government finds a buyer for the Tote, which has a presence on all 60 British racecourses and also operates nearly 550 off-course betting shops, it will conclude a saga that has dragged on for a decade.In 2001 the Labour Party manifesto included a commitment to sell the Tote to a trust owned by the racing industry and the organisation was subsequently taken into state ownership – it was previously a statutory body with no owner – to allow a sale to proceed.However, the European commission then insisted that the sale be made at "market value" to comply with European law on state aid. That value – as determined by the consultants PWC – was reported to be £400m and, despite two significant attempts to reach a deal with racing interests, one could not be reached at a price that satisfied the government. The racing interests' final offer is believed to have been around £320m.Now that the process has been thrown open to all comers, bookmakers will also be able to submit bids, with the Tote's betting shops, rather than its pool betting operation, the main attraction. Its chain would be a major prize for all but the two biggest players in the market, Ladbrokes and William Hill, who are likely to be ruled out of a bid by competition law.If racing interests are unable, or unwilling, to compete with a rival bid, the main concern for racing will be what, if anything, it will receive from the sale of a business that was set up to serve the sport, passes on millions of pounds in profits each year and until recently was seen as belonging far more to racing than to the government.Horse racingSport bettingGreg Woodguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Should they cancel the Commonwealth Games? | Poll The Games are under serious threat after a footbridge collapsed and the athletes' accommodation was described as unfit for human habitation. Would it be best if they called off the whole thing? guardian.co.uk |
The award-winning column: Said & Done Man of the weekPeter Storrie – refusing to discuss the £87k he was paid by Portsmouth's administrators for five months' consultancy: "I don't talk to the press any more, I've finished with all that." Last time Storrie did discuss his income – March, when administrators made 85 staff redundant. Storrie said he was "sick and tired" of claims he was overpaid as the debt hit £135m, with his 2009 package (£600k basic, £500k bonus, plus £3,000 for a win) "very reasonable". Storrie's wife told critics to back off: "The only thing Peter is guilty of is trying to be a hero. We've been living a nightmare."Socialist workerNew last week from Jack Warner: inaugurates a new academy in Jamaica paid for by a Fifa grant. Jack says Fifa are devoted to wealth redistribution for disadvantaged nations as part of a commitment to "equity and equality" in football. Fifa's grant to the centre: £250k. Amount paid in "bribes and kickbacks" to Fifa executives and contacts by Fifa's collapsed marketing agency up to 2001: £66m. Family news£16k: amount Fifa will donate to former Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, left unable to walk after being shot at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. Sepp told Obilale, who owes over £100k in medical bills: "I wish you a lot of courage". (£170k: Bonuses paid by Sepp to all 208 Fifa associations in June ahead of next year's Fifa elections. "Call it a gift!" said Sepp. "We are a united and happy football family!")Plus: award of the weekFormer Fifa vice-president Viacheslav Koloskov, in Asunción to lobby Fifa executive Nicolás Leoz for Russia's 2018 bid. Leoz presented Koloskov with an award for "services to football and its principles". (Principles: 2000 – Leoz named in court as taking £85k in bribes; 2002 – Koloskov given an unauthorised £65k payment from Sepp to cover "personal expenses". Sepp: "I reject all allegations of corruption.")Meanwhile: last week's transparency round-up• $81m: Public funds allocated to stadium refurbishment in Jack Warner's Trinidad for last month's Fifa U17 Women's World Cup. An inquiry has now been launched to "determine where the $81m went". Minister Anil Roberts said it would be "forensic": "We have a report which shows the money was misappropriated. We will solve this problem."• £44k: Amount Nigeria's Football Federation continue to owe the country's referees. Referee spokesman Ahmed Maude said a threat of a strike had focused minds. "They have still not told us when they will pay the monies, but they will." (£520k: amount allegedly "misspent" by former NFF officials on trips to the World Cup. The investigation continues; they deny wrongdoing).• £418k: Amount Ghana's FA spent on expenses for a match against Benin last year according to pressure group CFS, who have welcomed a government inquiry. "Transparency is key... These sums cannot go unaccounted for in a country whose citizens go through hell day in day out to get portable drinking water".• 3: Number of senior Zambia FA officials who resigned last week accusing FA head Kalusha Bwalya of a "serious lack of transparency". Bwalya said he would punish those trying to "undermine me". "Enough is enough. Now I will crack the whip!"TextbookThursday: Milan Mandaric, Leicester, tells the press to back off Paulo Sousa: "We can't turn things upside down now, for goodness sake. We can't turn around now and say Paulo needs to go. Now is the time for us to show how strong we are together, how united we are behind our manager and give him a chance. It is a difficult time but it is time to be united and not to listen to speculation in the media. It is as simple as that."Friday: Sacks him.Number crunching• £142m: The new annual Premier League "solidarity payment" split between Football League clubs – proving "Premier League clubs take their responsibility for all levels of the game very seriously."• £133m: Man City's wage bill. HotseatStability news: Real Mallorca say they sacked president Josep Pons because of allegations he sexually harassed a member of staff while he was Spain's ambassador to Austria. "I am innocent, and deeply unhappy," says Pons. Number of Real presidents in the last two years: 8.Taste and decencyDiversity news: Ecuadorian officials say they'll appeal after a court re-instated women's club Deportivo Guipúzcoa. The league banned them in July 2009 after two players kissed during a game. "That act," said the league's legal spokesman "defied morality and good habits".And finallyLarissa Riquelme says her new role in Mexican TV show "The Triumph of Love" with veteran midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco is "thrilling". Blanco will play a fireman, with Riquelme as his lover. Blanco: "This is a big test as an actor." Producer Salvador Mejia: "Honestly? I don't expect them to be able to act. They're just the cherries on my cake."FifaDavid Hillsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ohio State is No. 1 in AP Top 25 By RALPH D. RUSSO 2010-10-10T16:08:46ZNEW YORK (AP) -- Ohio State is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll.... hosted.ap.org |
Tampa Bay Bucs' Jerramy Stevens charged with drug possession Tampa Bay tight end Jerramy Stevens was sitting out Sunday's game after police said he was arrested and charged with possessing marijuana. Tampa ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |