The warning from Britain’s second largest bookmaking chain follows Thursday’s decision by Ladbrokes to sack 200 staff as a direct result of the impact of the Lottery.
William Hill has already decided on some cuts but will not reveal the races the firm is to drop until individual courses have been notified.”We are undertaking a wholesale revision which could mean in excess of a 50 per cent reduction,” the firm’s spokesman, David Hood, said.”Each race will be looked at on its merits. William Hill announced yesterday that it is reviewing its racing sponsorship programme and blamed the effects of the National Lottery for the cutback. Nearly half the company’s pounds 400,000 a year sponsorship is under threat, in particular big races such as the Lincoln and Cambridgeshire. He may have removed McClellan from his mind but erasing the memory of the night will be harder and it remains to be seen if his recovery is as complete as he hopes it is..

Even after six months Benn was clearly having problems expressing his sorrow. ”Without Paul’s help I would have ended up in the gutter or in a mental hospital.”Now Benn has nothing left to prove and he insists his hunger has returned. I had some personal troubles and when it comes to a woman breaking your fucking heart you ain’t gonna find any help in the ring,” said Benn as his head dropped and his voice trailed off. However, the illusion of calm vanished when he was reminded of McClellan’s remaining disabilities last Thursday. ”I don’t need to hear that sort of crap,” he scowled, his charm deserting him as he left a press conference to deal with 48 hours of personal demons before tonight’s encounter.Before the McClellan fight Benn had other troubles. He split from his wife and sought help from the hypnotherapist Paul McKenna.”I fight in the ring on my natural abilities. The fighter can walk with assistance, move both arms, and talk but hearing loss has affected his speech.

He has also lost most of his sight.Even before the latest medical update on McClellan became public knowledge, the fight’s legacy hovered over Benn ”I’m fine,” Benn claims. I want to now, and I will,” Benn continued.There are reports that McClellan, who returned to America two months after his emergency surgery, will shortly return to his home in Freeport, Illinois. I’m a warrior but I could not ignore the pain.” Finally, McClellan fell for the second time and it was over. Within a week Benn left the country.”My dad went to see him but I never did. My face was swollen like the Elephant Man, my shoulders ached and after the fight I pissed blood I knew I just had to keep going.