Racing's attempt to take control of the Tote will hang in the balance this weekend, as the government prepares to consider the latest offer for the betting operator from a consortium that includes racecourses, owners and the current Tote management. The end of September marks the final deadline set by the government for the consortium to submit an up-to-date bid, and sources close to the negotiations confirm that their latest offer will be with the government by the end of today.

"The bottom line is that an offer will go in before the deadline," one said. "It will include a figure, which takes into account the significant changes to market conditions since our initial offer for the business back in January. It will then be up to the government to respond."

Members of the consortium feel that the final decision is finely balanced, despite their initial offer for the Tote having matched the government's valuation of £400m fully eight months ago. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which has direct responsibility for the Tote, is believed to be favorable to their bid, but concerns at the Treasury about the financing of the deal are thought to have prevented any further progress.

The consortium's members could be forgiven for getting a little impatient, as the process of selling the Tote to racing interests - which was a labor manifesto commitment at the last election - has proved tortuous.

Their new offer reflects the fact that the value of betting businesses in general has dipped over the last eight months. This could make the Tote, which has a short-term monopoly on pool betting in Britain and also owns 540 betting shops, less attractive to other potential buyers, such as rival bookmakers or private equity firms. It may also count in the consortium's favor that it will pledge to keep the Tote's headquarters in Wigan, where it is a significant local employer.

There is no deadline for the government's response but it seems likely that the outcome of racing's attempt to move into the betting market will be decided before Christmas.

Seb Sanders' challenge for the jockeys' title has stuttered this week and suffered another setback yesterday when Jamie Osborne successfully appealed against the demotion of Six Of Diamonds from first place in a race at Bath earlier this month.

Six Of Diamonds, ridden by William Buick, finished a short-head in front of Gold Hush, with Sanders in the saddle, but the local stewards decided to reverse the placings. That decision was reversed in turn by the British Horse racing Authority, leaving Sanders, who was serving a one-day suspension yesterday, on 145 for the season, level with Jamie Spencer.

Spencer then won on Generous Thought in the opener at Pontefract to take the lead in the title race once again. Given that he is a single riding offense away from a significant ban under the "totting-up" process, Spencer may also have been grateful that the stewards did not inquire into his manoeuvre near halfway in the six-furlong event, which appeared to cause interference to two of his opponents. He added another winner when Hareem took a maiden at Wolverhampton last night.

The first meeting at Great Leighs racecourse in Essex appears to be as distant a prospect as ever, after the track returned six more fixtures to the BHA yesterday. It will now be unable to race before December 27 at the earliest.

"Next week's formal inspection of the course has been called off," Will Lambe, a BHA spokesman, said. "We spoke with John Holmes [Great Leighs' owner and developer] and he told us that he would have to hand back a further six fixtures.

"The tarmac is all but down, to enable them to start laying the Polytrack [all-weather racing surface], and the floodlights are now in place."
From : Buzzle.com