Gerard Whateley says the BC3 collapse is similar to the Pyramind Building Society

FOR the moment racing looks a rotten game. Never far from scandal, a stench has crept across the sport and turned rancid.

Bill Vlahos at the Australian Inglis yearling sales in Sydney. Picture: Mark Evans

FOR the moment racing looks a rotten game.

Never far from scandal, the stench that has steadily crept across the sport has turned rancid.

As the full extent of the mysterious dealings of The Edge Punters Club is unravelled, it will leave victims on a scale from ruined to embarrassed.

But the damage Bill Vlahos' scheme will do to racing more broadly, both in perception and practice, might prove immeasurable.

The escalating tally of lost funds will bring with it a wave of anger, as witnessed through a collapse such as Pyramid Building Society.

In this instance though, the fury will find its way toward racing.

Vlahos was fostered, welcomed and harboured within the sport. He drew on its excitement and possibility.

Once it's revealed the majority of those taken in and duped were non-racing people, the resentment will grow seismically.

Racing's recent litany of disrepute is already bulging.

Be it the disgracing of Danny Nikolic, the appalling spat between Gai and Singo over poor More Joyous, the collapse of the Nathan Tinkler empire, the willingness of trainers to pervert the ban on raceway treatments, or the abysmal handling of the Damien Oliver case by those entrusted to enforce and uphold standards.

It has come at a slowly recognised cost that is about to accelerate.

In 2001, Vlahos was a leisure punter. A newly converted one at that. He posted a testimony on a dedicated punting website that read:

"I have spent the last few weeks browsing your Propunt site and enjoy it immensely. I am only a recent horseracing enthusiast and call it beginners luck but I am enjoying some wins based on a simple system that at least stops me backing horses with little chance, or horses that are under the odds."

Vlahos was contacted by the operator of the site and responded on February 8, 2001 with ever-growing enthusiasm.

"I was at Randwick on Saturday and your 'horse watch' newsletter gave me Lady Mulan and Barossa Broadway. Thanks to Lady Mulan's win I was able to have $200 on Barossa Broadway at $30 odd dollars. There was a group of 15 of us and they thank you for the 'shouts' of beer as well. As they say in the classics 'a good day was had by all'."

By the opening day of the 2009/10 racing season, Vlahos was wagering $2,517,000 across 15 races at Caulfield and Rosehill on behalf of The Edge.

According to the results spreadsheet from August 1, 2009 the outlay accounted for 12.92% of the nearly $20 million war chest he wielded.

Vlahos would propose to bet on five horses in each race if the odds correlated with his assessments. "The bet size is calculated automatically if the Price is greater than or equal to the Rated Price."

When the $3 favourite Red Buttons saluted in the fifth at Caulfield, Vlahos dropped $225,000 on the race as the winner started too short to trigger his bet.

When the roughie Let Go Thommo won the next, the feature Bletchingly Stakes, his $22,000 each way wager recouped $572,000.

According to the final tally provided to club members a profit of $146,350 was shown for the day.

Four years later it is claimed Vlahos was working with 10 times the amounts documented in 2009.

Racing Victoria's initial instinct to the unfolding crisis has been to cite a lack of jurisdiction over The Edge.

If there is a punters club in Victoria investing such vast sums on off-Broadway race days that is mandatory for authorities to be aware of.

If a punters club is purporting to bet with such largesse without any trace through national betting records then it's an even more urgent matter.

When the man running such a venture is building an ownership enterprise with breeding aspirations and snapping up high-priced yearlings in a blaze of publicity his bona fides must surely be of interest.

If things are as they appear, the lack of intelligence and awareness of authorities is a straight fail.

Vlahos' initial anecdote of winning $6000 with his mates at Randwick neatly encapsulates the fun of racing.

Twelve years on Vlahos' tale is a nasty one with a bitter twist.

Racing looks a lot less fun for a great many people than it did a week ago.