Well said brissy,

Although we have problems in our racing scene, we punters still have the best of both worlds. That is, the serious punter being to compare the odds on offer between bookies and tote and betting only when he/she believes the odds are in his/her favour.
Yes, the scenario you envisaged is not very attractive at all is it(ie. tote domination of betting)?
All over the world where this is the case, racing appears to be in the doldrums.

Cheers