Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse - fields in newspapers and last form guide to go

Racing’s shop window is set to close even further with no racing fields in newspapers and the likelihood of no racing form guide.

The TAB is planning to stop investing in newspaper form and the weekly publication of RaceForm as part of its drastic cost-cutting.

That will almost certainly mean punters will no longer be able to see what’s running at the track because newspaper editors won’t allocate space for fields without being paid.

And, in a double whammy, punters used to studying the form could also be left high and dry as RaceForm was the sole racing publication left and incorporated the iconic Best Bets.

Despite form being available online, many thousands of punters still prefer to access race fields in their newspapers.

Friday newspaper coverage once peaked at 20 pages, which incorporated previews and fields for every domestic meeting and the major Australian ones.

While coverage has been squeezed in recent years, it has still remained the No.1 source for many punters, especially older ones who have enjoyed it for decades.

Before the COVID-19 lockdown when racing stopped, many TABs still posted newspaper fields and selections on their walls to entice punters to bet.

The trusty Best Bets was once a betting staple.RaceForm had wide industry support

RaceForm, a reincarnation of the defunct magazine The Informant, received widespread industry praise when it was launched last December.

Racing Industry Transition Agency executive chair Dean McKenzie said at the time that after several months of working to support its development, he was excited to see it come to fruition.

“Incorporating Best Bets in RaceForm aligns with RITA’s focus on driving revenue for racing and provides an opportunity to improve customer service by supplying more information for punters and ultimately delivering on our objective to promote racing.”

In racing’s heyday no self-respecting punter would be seen without a Best Bets hanging out of their back pockets, and it was distributed to more than 3500 outlets including numerous dairies, service stations and book stores.

Distribution problems led to a revamp and in latter years it grew to a glossy covered publication averaging 128 pages.

RaceForm editor, respected journalist Dennis Ryan, said he was unable to comment as RaceForm Publications had received no communication from RITA on the magazine’s future.

The magazine has not been published during lockdown but without support from RITA, and the impending redundancy of related staff, a betting man would quote long odds on it coming back when gallops and harness racing resumes at the end of the month.

The proposals are due to be confirmed on May 25 with the TAB calling for feedback by Saturday, May 16.