Pick 6 Lotto

[JimG]

If Lotto can be sold at your local market, why not Pick 6 tickets? Seems to me that would add a lot of money to the pick 6 pools (mostly uneducated) while at the same time create more interest in racing.

I am sure there are many items to be considered, but I thought I would throw out the idea. Seems to me a card where the customer fills in the date and horse numbers (1-12) (1-10) depending on jurisdiction, and turns it in like a lottery ticket would work. Get the fave in a race if no horse number or a scratch.

Thoughts?

Jim

[twindouble]

If Lotto can be sold at your local market, why not Pick 6 tickets? Seems to me that would add a lot of money to the pick 6 pools (mostly uneducated) while at the same time create more interest in racing.

I am sure there are many items to be considered, but I thought I would throw out the idea. Seems to me a card where the customer fills in the date and horse numbers (1-12) (1-10) depending on jurisdiction, and turns it in like a lottery ticket would work. Get the fave in a race if no horse number or a scratch.

Thoughts?

Jim

I think it's one hell of an idea, I would like nothing better to have a lot foolish money building up the pot. I would add have those races be shown on TV as well.

[surfdog89]

Good Idea... the more money... more interest in horse racing... we need young blood into this sport.......:ThmbUp:

[Koko]

Not having followed racing or management policies consistently over the last decade, I certainly am no expert on their mis-steps. However, I think a few things are pretty obvious that they've seemed to miss.

Your patrons are aging and not being replaced by the next generation. Why not is a complex answer, however, if you have any hope of getting the youngsters into the game you've got to do a few things.

The game has a steep takeout and a steep learning curve. Assume for the moment that in large measure can't be changed. You have to make the learning curve APPEAR to be not so steep or make it not quite so steep by offering valid helpful seminars, lessons etc. that are tailor made to help the beginners, not to help the touts sell sheets to them. What does a seminar cost? Diddly. What does a free sound Handicapping 101 Fundamentals booklet printed on non-glossy paper. Same answer, diddly.

The poker explosion provides some clues as to how to do it the right way.
You can go online and play .01./.02 limit or no-limit hold'em. Gee, with business so great you'd think the pokerrooms could just tell the little guy with $10 to deposit to go screw himself, come back when you have $100.

They understand that the little guy costs them very little to service and one day may be a big guy who might also inform friends and family about the game.

The $.10 Superfecta is probably the most brilliant step they've taken, yet it should have been obvious years ago. Gee, do you think that if it makes sense to do that with Supers, it might make sense to do the same with Pick4's, Pick6's and perhaps even Tri's and Pick3's? Wow, what a concept.:rolleyes:

Think of the Pick6 possibilities. You get a lot more amateur money in the pool which is allowed to play for the big hit while feeding more whales and in turn increasing the carryovers to a larger number that could induce more lottery-type players to play for the $2,500,000 carryover or whatever.

On the other hand, there is probably a mentality that pervades the industry which says "degenerates (our customers) are born, not made", in other words, the idiots will show up no matter how much we crap on them, why should we actually think like someone who feels they need to treat their customers with respect in order to get a few more into the shop, it's too different a mindset for them to seem to grasp.

[toetoe]

Believe me, the horsey set in California tried to connect with the lottery crowd, but all that came of it was the insulting Daily Derby, a brain-dead lotto in equine clothing. We only got the lottery relatively recently, with the tried-and-false line, "It's for the children." The ignorant soon-to-be majority here are all playing the lottery, so it's here forever, but I think the Magna Pick-Five is the perfect bet to go national. It's already set up, and the illiterate can just play the numbers. No need to worry that the prize won't be big enough, as they love to win five or ten bucks. Yes, they plow it right back into some other game of pure chance. I think the Magna 5 could be televised, publicized, etc. One problem is that the nescient lemmings that love lotto, bingo, etc., all know for a fact that not only is horse betting 'wrong,' it's also 'fixed.' They may not stoop so low.

[Koko]

Believe me, the horsey set in California tried to connect with the lottery crowd, but all that came of it was the insulting Daily Derby, a brain-dead lotto in equine clothing. We only got the lottery relatively recently, with the tried-and-false line, "It's for the children." The ignorant soon-to-be majority here are all playing the lottery, so it's here forever, but I think the Magna Pick-Five is the perfect bet to go national. It's already set up, and the illiterate can just play the numbers. No need to worry that the prize won't be big enough, as they love to win five or ten bucks. Yes, they plow it right back into some other game of pure chance. I think the Magna 5 could be televised, publicized, etc. One problem is that the nescient lemmings that love lotto, bingo, etc., all know for a fact that not only is horse betting 'wrong,' it's also 'fixed.' They may not stoop so low.

I hear you ToeToe, I'm in CA too. They ought to do some form of Magna 5 daily for a dime on as nationwide a basis as possible. With all the gaming activity being allowed in this era, if they can't afford a few congressmen to push it through then they're not budgeting enough for lobbying and need to step it up. When everyone else is paying the juice you got to step to the plate also, they're not giving freebies these days. You might be able to get in cheap since the market is somewhat depressed since Abramoff won't be dropping off any bulging satchels on Capitol Hill for a while.

[Zaf]

Definately got to get dumb money back into the game. Most of it has left due to slots & lotteries. Now its Shark vs. Shark. Too much smart money out there. Need to draw the suckers back.

Z

[toetoe]

We can use the 'Amber Alert' signs for pick-five results!

[BillW]

Jim,

With the huge difference in takeout, I doubt that a state would want the competition (self-inflicted at that as they would have to approve any form of horse betting)

Bill

[GeTydOn]

Cool idea the Pick 6 lotto. But tickets would need to be bought by early afternoon.

[Valuist]

Why not P4 tickets also?

[highnote]

If Lotto can be sold at your local market, why not Pick 6 tickets? Seems to me that would add a lot of money to the pick 6 pools (mostly uneducated) while at the same time create more interest in racing.

I am sure there are many items to be considered, but I thought I would throw out the idea. Seems to me a card where the customer fills in the date and horse numbers (1-12) (1-10) depending on jurisdiction, and turns it in like a lottery ticket would work. Get the fave in a race if no horse number or a scratch.

Thoughts?

Jim


I'm pretty sure they have this in France. I think it is called the Tierce or something like that. You might have to pick the correct order of finish for the first 5 finishers. I think you can buy tickets at many convenience stores or cafes. Not sure if I have any of these details right, except that France has some kind of national exotic bet on a daily horserace and it is very popular due to the fact that it is structured like a lottery and is available nationwide.

[twindouble]

The problem I see with it is it will compete with existing lotteries. The only way to sell the idea is give the States a bigger cut or have these monies go into the States Breeder funds or anything else that promotes racing. It would be a political football so you would need support from others.


T.D.

[oddswizard]

I set up a complete marketng promotion called the Lotto Derby pick 6 program. It advertised the daily pick six races in each area & promoted the winners. I believed this would attract more people to the track. Then I hired an ad agency for their input. James Quinn & I then put together an education exhibit to be used at each track that would teach newcomers how to wager & understand what horse racing was all about. Then I developed a corporate box seat program so corporations could sponser races & bring their best customers to the races. This program will work to increase the live handle at the various tracks & increase the handle. It would also promote horse ownership so the fields would become larger. I contacted the California owners association and Jim discussed the program with the NTRA. Guess what? No one was interested in the program. Could not even get a hearing. New ideas are simply not welcome.

[JPinMaryland]

This reminds me of something we had in western pennsylvania like 30 years ago. YOu went to the supermarket and I guess they gave you these tickets for buying groceries or something. Cant recall the details, you didnt purchase them I know that. They were inside of cereal boxes, or got them at the checkout line or something. It was a lottery basically. The ticket had like 3 races on it with your horse number already entered. So you got like 5-12-6 for a series of three races to be shown on tv. Of course these were already taped races from some obscure track, so the promotion people knew how to rig it. So of course you won the first two legs of your ticket and then were rooting for no. 6 in the third race who somehow managed to lose by a nose....Strange days.

[Indulto]

This reminds me of something we had in western pennsylvania like 30 years ago. YOu went to the supermarket and I guess they gave you these tickets for buying groceries or something. Cant recall the details, you didnt purchase them I know that. They were inside of cereal boxes, or got them at the checkout line or something. It was a lottery basically. The ticket had like 3 races on it with your horse number already entered. So you got like 5-12-6 for a series of three races to be shown on tv. Of course these were already taped races from some obscure track, so the promotion people knew how to rig it. So of course you won the first two legs of your ticket and then were rooting for no. 6 in the third race who somehow managed to lose by a nose....Strange days.JP,
I remember those. A grocery chain here in Calif. used that promotion and the races were from Tropical Park. I finally nailed it down when the local favorite, Swamp Rabbit, appeared in several. I didn't win anything, but shopped at the chain exclusively from then on. My wife concluded that was the best way to play the horses, and so would also shop there as well.

When subsequently accompanying me to Santa Anita, my pre-school offspring always wanted to know which race had Swamp Rabbit entered in order to say hello.

[cnollfan]

I'll probably get laughed off the board for this, but whenever there is a big Pick 6 carryover I have started to play a $2 ticket just betting on numbers. In Lotto, the take is about 50%, to build schools and all that other neat stuff. If there is a big Pick 6 carryover, the takeout is about zero, or even negative. And if you happen to hit five of six you could do quite well with random numbers if some prices came in, while 5 of 6 in Lotto is a ripoff.

[cnollfan]

This reminds me of something we had in western pennsylvania like 30 years ago. YOu went to the supermarket and I guess they gave you these tickets for buying groceries or something. Cant recall the details, you didnt purchase them I know that. They were inside of cereal boxes, or got them at the checkout line or something. It was a lottery basically. The ticket had like 3 races on it with your horse number already entered. So you got like 5-12-6 for a series of three races to be shown on tv. Of course these were already taped races from some obscure track, so the promotion people knew how to rig it. So of course you won the first two legs of your ticket and then were rooting for no. 6 in the third race who somehow managed to lose by a nose....Strange days.

I remember those too, in the 1960s in Colorado. I was a kid then and I loved it. The races were from Florida Downs, which has evolved into mid-major Tampa Bay Downs.

[toetoe]

cnollfan,

Your argument is a good one, but can the lottophiles brain up a tiny bit to understand its appeal? 5 of 6 paid very well back before they went to a 70/30 split. A 50/50 split paid 67% better for five then than it does now.