Estimates of the Tote's value on the open market range from £120m to £200m.

The sale is complicated because the Tote is not like other businesses. It operates by pooling money from punters' bets, and after winnings are paid, any profits are put back into the racing industry.

Increasingly out of place

Last year that figure came to more than £12m, so naturally there is a desire within the industry that, whoever takes over the Tote, the practice continues.

Tote chairman Peter Jones explains the background to the sale

The existence of the Tote in such a commercial sector has become increasingly anomalous, especially as it was looking to expand its network of 280 high-street betting shops. It also operates on-course outlets.

The decision to sell the Tote, which was first outlined in May, came after a review involving the Home Office, the Treasury and Peter Jones.

As well as its high-street outlets, the Tote competes with on-course bookies

At the AGM, Mr Jones made it clear that his preferred option was to set up a trust run by representatives of racing's main bodies, but with the Tote's management continuing the day-to-day operation.

The trust would pay the government to take control of the Tote. Mr Jones suggested a figure of between £40m and 100m, but said this would have to be negotiated with the Treasury.

However, he added that if the government decided to proceed with an open sale, he would be interested in putting together a management buy-out.

Mr Jones resisted calls for the British Horseracing Board to take over the Tote. "While I strongly support the BHB's aims to put horseracing on a sounder long-term footing, these aims would not be advanced by placing the Tote directly under the control of the BHB," he commented.

But the BHB will fight hard to ensure that as much cash as possible is ploughed back into an industry which needs every penny it can get.

No change for punters

Whatever the outcome, punters will notice little change, believes the BBC's racing reporter, Cornelius Lysaght.

"The Tote will continue and the only difference will be, according to Peter Jones, that it will be more competitive against the Ladbrokes, William Hills and Corals of this world, and where they are able to offer more attractive odds on some occasions, then the Tote will be hoping to do the same itself," he said.

The mechanics of the sale promise to be complex. The government does not actually own the Tote, so it will have to be nationalised before it can be privatised.