The betting levy that bookmakers pay to the horseracing industry should have been put out to grass long ago. Dating back more than 40 years, the system is a clapped-out nag, sired by Nanny State out of Faute de Mieux. Now the dispute between racing and betting over the level of the annual payment has become so bitter that the government has had to intervene.

When the levy was introduced back in 1961 the bookies at race meetings, with their sharp suits, camelhair coats and flash watches, symbolised the interdependence of horseracing and betting.