Racing Post Cover Price Increase: No Affordability Checks Required

Punters, brace yourselves—not for a photo finish, but for yet another price hike from the Racing Post, which has generously decided that your need to read the same recycled tipping wisdom now warrants £5.20 from Sunday to Friday and a rather ambitious £5.50 on Saturdays.

At this rate, by next year, it’ll be cheaper to buy a share in a racehorse than a month’s worth of copies. But worry not—this remains the only gambling-related purchase where you won’t be asked for an affordability check! That’s right, the Gambling Commission won’t be fretting over your ability to stump up for a daily printout of the same old form guides, while betting a tenner online might require a forensic examination of your mortgage statements.

Pay More for the Same ‘Premium’ Experience

“We know a price increase is never welcome,” the Racing Post solemnly declares, presumably while counting their bookmaker ad revenue in the background. They assure us, however, that this is all in aid of delivering "the highest quality of racing journalism and data.”

Of course, whether “highest quality” translates to anything beyond predictable tips, vague trainer quotes, and the occasional moralising editorial about racing’s precarious future remains to be seen. But let’s not be cynical—perhaps this price hike is merely funding a cutting-edge new way to tell us the favourite is ‘well-fancied’ and the outsider ‘could spring a surprise’.

Meanwhile, At The Races Remains Free (With Just as Many Bookie Ads!)

Here’s the real kicker: if you're the sort of punter who enjoys reading between the lines of bookmaker-sponsored tipping columns, you’ll be delighted to know that At The Races is still free, offering roughly the same mix of racecards, tips, and form analysis—just with the same amount of bookmaker advertising.

Yes, somehow, At The Races has managed to maintain a business model that doesn’t involve rinsing punters for a fiver a day, while still ensuring you’re sufficiently nudged towards placing a bet on some 6/4 shot at Wolverhampton. If the Racing Post is truly under such dire financial pressure, perhaps they should take a leaf out of ATR’s book—or better yet, just print a copy of ATR’s website and charge us for that instead.

Thank You for Your Continued Financial Loyalty

Of course, the Racing Post is nothing if not polite, thanking its “loyal readers and subscribers” for their ongoing support—which we assume means their continued willingness to pay for something that’s largely available elsewhere, for free.

Still, for those who enjoy the tactile pleasure of flicking through a paper over their greasy spoon breakfast, this is just another blow in the great British tradition of racing-related financial squeezes. For everyone else? There’s always Google.