Sir Alex Ferguson has nailed his colours firmly to Manchester United fan Fred Done’s mast in the race to privatise the Tote.

The Reds boss, one of the most high-profile racehorse owners in the country, said Betfred have the know-how and reputation to best serve Tote punters.

And Sir Alex believes the Warrington-based millionaire bookie is the man for the job rather than bid rivals Sports Investment Partners, who have the support of the British Racehorsing Authority.  

“The most important issue is that Fred has proved himself in the horserace betting business,” said Fergie.

“In a career stretching over 40 years he’s built up an empire of shops, as well as online business, and experience is going to be important in the Tote’s future. I’ve every confidence Fred and his team are the right people.

“We want to get a fair product for the punter and to give them as fair a deal as possible. Fred can do that. He’s honest, as straight as a die, and doesn’t let himself or anyone else down.”

Salford-born Done is in discussions with racecourse groups over the creation of a new Tote Racing Development Board, which would set the agenda for the development of the Tote.

Barry Nightingale, Betfred CFO said: “This new body gives racing a direct voice at the table to influence the commercialisation and development of the Tote and will also enable Betfred to benefit from the experience and knowledge of those who run the racecourses. In conjunction with our commitment of £120m to racing over seven years, we believe this new board will provide the leadership to strengthen UK racing significantly, and support growth and jobs.”

Rivals

Meanwhile, Budapest Bullet may have misfired in the betfred.com Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday but another flying machine is set to make his mark at Royal Ascot.

Rocket Man, who surged clear of his rivals in Singapore yesterday, is poised to travel to Britain next month for the Golden Jubilee Stakes on June 18.

The six-year-old, trained in Singapore by Patrick Shaw, has now won 15 of his 19 races and is Betfred’s 11-2 favourite to add to his formidable record on his first visit to Europe.

Overdose, meanwhile, was a big disappointment at Haydock and has been pushed right out in the betting for his Royal Ascot target, the King’s Stand Stakes.

Nicknamed the Budapest Bullet by his Hungarian supporters, the sprinter seemed ill at ease on the good to firm ground and could only finish seventh to Irish star Sole Power.

He probably wasn’t helped either by jockey Andreas Suborics, who struggled to release the hood used on Overdose in the stalls and when he finally did so, it blew into Neil Callan riding Borderlescott, who finished fourth.

Irish horses also made sure that their first two classics stayed at home with victories for Aidan O’Brien in Saturday’s 2,000 Guineas with Roderic O’Connor, ridden by the trainer’s 17-year-old son Joseph, followed by Misty For Me in the 1,000 Guineas yesterday.

It has hardly been a scintillating few days for British racing as, apart from missing out in the big races, the sport is struggling with another investigation into corruption.

Jimmy Quinn and Kirsty Milczarek, two of four jockeys charged, along with nine other individuals, with serious breaches of the rules of racing were escorted to and from the parade ring at Lingfield by a security detail on Saturday night.

In addition, the BHA charged former rider Paul Fitzsimons, now a trainer, along with eight other people, including two registered owners, Maurice Sines and James Crickmore.

It is alleged that they conspired to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice following a British Horseracing Authority investigation into suspicious betting activity on a number of races.

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