Illegal drones threaten horse racing bets in the UK

The Clerk of Fakenham racecourse is calling for help to combat the use of illegal drones to take images of races for use by black-market bookies.

UK.- Illegal drones are being used to offer images of horse races to black-market bookies, according to the chief executive and clerk of Fakenham racecourse, David Hunter.

The racecourse boss claims that drone pilots are using the devices to gain an edge for black market gamblers and is asking people to report if they see the drones near the racecourse. At the last meeting, he spotted four drones hovering over the races.

“When I’ve spoken to people in Fakenham some said they saw the drones and thought they were taking aerial photos of people’s houses,” he said.

He added: “If people in Fakenham know what a nuisance the drones are – that the operators are stealing our intellectual property; that they are operating without our permission and that an accident is waiting to happen – then I am sure the townsfolk would be horrified and will support us and show their distaste and the displeasure to the operators and report their activity to us.”

Hunter said he believed the problem causes damage to legal meetings and could boost illegal activity.

He said: “It makes me so angry. All of us put in a huge amount of work into the race meetings. We comply with all regulation and produce a highly professional racing product. These pirates come along and blatantly steal what is not theirs”.

Hunter said he believed the government should legislate to allow sports venues to have a legal no-fly zone around them on event days.