Whilst this year's Cup Week made history and provided enjoyment for the multiple thousands of fans who flocked to Flemington, it appears that one or two bookmakers in the Nursery Car Park may have taken subtle advantage of the "once a year racegoers" by offering odds which were not, strictly speaking, "reasonable".

I received a copy of a letter from an Australian contact which is worth sharing with you to see if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter:

"For almost every race during the Carnival there was a long queue of people at these bookmakers waiting to place their bets. Very few (if any) of these racegoers compared the odds which were on offer on the tote and would have had no idea as to the percentages that these bookmakers were betting.

"From my observations, it appeared that virtually every horse in every race was at odds under comparable odds which were offered by bookmakers fielding inside the course.

"Fortunately, I was able to see the screens that these bookmakers had tucked away so that they could not be seen by any unsuspecting punters showing the odds fluctuations. Each time I viewed the screen and compared those odds with the odds offered by these bookmakers, virtually every horse was "under". I can clearly recall specific examples where I was interested in having a bet on a particular horse but had no alternative but to refrain from doing so with the poor odds on offer.

"I consider that this is an unfair and unsatisfactory situation for these bookmakers to reap such an unfair advantage and I hope that something will be done about it. I suggest that bookmakers who operate in the main ring be invited to field in the Nursery Car Park and to operate on a similar basis to those bookmakers who also offer a betting facility in the new stand."