If you want to boycott...

[superfecta]

How about a boycott of one wagering pool at one track for one day?My suggestion would be the Pick six pool at Hollywood on the day they guarantee the pool for 1 million.After the track makes up the difference,that will get their attention.Just a thought that hit me when I saw the advertisement in the DRF.

[sq764]

I heard that Saturday December 7th is like a boycott day.. A day we should not be betting.. Not sure where I heard this day, but I can do without one Saturday of betting..

[hurrikane]

the problem with that Sat (dec 7) is there are several final qualifiers for the National tourney. I'm already signed up..gotta go.

[cj]

As for the Pick 6, if everyone else was boycotting a guaranteed $1 millon pool, I'd be crazy not to play myself. I don't play the P6, but I'm sure those who do would love a movement like this for selfish reasons.

CJ

[superfecta]

Originally posted by cjmilkowski
As for the Pick 6, if everyone else was boycotting a guaranteed $1 millon pool, I'd be crazy not to play myself. I don't play the P6, but I'm sure those who do would love a movement like this for selfish reasons.

CJ But thats the reason you would boycott ,you are denying yourself a chance for monetary gain for a purpose.I would think those folks wanting to get a tracks attention would do this in order to let the track know they don't want to be taken for granted.Otherwise they have no room to gripe .

[hurrikane]

I agree with CJ...this game is really about opportunity and greed.
If you get everyone to boycott..me and every syndicate will be betting into the pool.
Not sure that is the way to get to them....

[rrbauer]

Hollywood had to put about $70k into their P6 pool yesterday to reach the $1M mark according to a friend who was at the track.

[so.cal.fan]

Richard,
I hope that is true. Maybe they will get a message here?
I am disgusted the way the tracks "tout" their pick six pools like they are the biggest thing going for the sport.
I've said it before and I'll say it again......THE PICK SIX HAS TAKEN ALL THE FUN OUT OF THE SPORT!

[GameTheory]

SCF --

Could you elaborate on that?

Not being a P6 bettor, I've always totally ignored it. But I wasn't around pre-P6. How would I be having more fun if they did away with it?

[so.cal.fan]

Before the pick six, people used to go to the track and try to pick winners.
It used to be a fun and competitive game. If you selected and bet a 10/1 winner- IT WAS A BIG DEAL! Now, if you pick a 20/1 winner, someone will ask you " yeah, but did you single it in the pick six"?
Look, all these exotic bets are bad for racing in general.
New people are intimidated by them, especially women, they don't understand the bets. Pick six betting is way too stressful and too competitive. Yes, it may be a really fun thing for a small group of men, who form a syndicate and put in big tickets (or at least it WAS before the BC scandal), but it is not for the majority.
These big pools only encourage the small bettor to put their money in, when in reality they have very little chance of hitting.
Now this was all true BEFORE we knew of the (probably) wide spread cheating. Now, imho, it is a disgrace that the tracks still "tout" this bet. I am very happy Hollywood Park got "nailed" and I hope it happens again.
Game Theory, racing used to be a lot more fun before the dirty tide of pick six cards came into the picture.

[kitts]

so.cal.fan
Amen to that. I really liked the good ol' days with 8 races, a daily double on the first 2 races, WPS betting only otherwise. And 6f, 7f, 8f 8.5, 9 and 10f. No 2,4, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5f. I was at the track when a couple, apprently new to racing, hit a $4,000 Exacta. I felt sorry for them 'cause they were going to spend many years chasing their next $4k Exacta. Oh, well. Things have changed and we do the best we can.

[rrbauer]

socalfan

If you recall it was people like Vern Underwood at Hollywood who were the original champions of the Pick 6. At the time they were looking for a "show stopper", something that they could use to call attention to the game in the face of declining attendance. The feeling was that someone who won a big pot from a small ticket would make good PR. But that wasn't enough. In a couple years when it became evident that small tickets weren't winning big pots, along came the carryover idea; and, with that, came bigger tickets winning bigger pots....and more publicity and more feed for greed when a double carryover happened.

Also, if you recall, it was horse racing in general, and the CHRB in particular, that thumbed their noses at having anything to do with the lottery, when the initial proposal for a lottery in Calif was to have it administered and under the jurisdiction of the horse racing board.

Subsequently, when the lottery got underway and established a statewide network with thousands of locations and online terminals and horse racing was still arguing whether, or not, to embrace simulcasting, and someone suggested using the lottery network for selected horse race bets (sticking their toe in the water) the lottery's response was, "What do we need horse race bets for? We make more money on lottery bets." The mouse had become the elephant!

So today when it's "handle" that is filling the reservoir that keeps the industry afloat (BTW loved the imagery of "dirty tide of pick six cards") the bets that produce the dough are the bets that lead the show (sorry). I agree with everything you say about where we're at vis-a-vis where we used to be. I don't like where we're at; but, at least we've survived. The past was great, but I don't see us returning to it, so I don't lament its passing.

BTW...going to be in Seabiscuit at SA on Saturday?

[so.cal.fan]

RB
This is all true about the lottery, I remember it well, and they made a HORRIBLE error.
They keep compounding the problem with more and more complex exotic wagers.........KISS (keep it simple, stupid)!!!!!
It's not too hard to go buy a lottery ticket.......a lot easier than figuring a pick six ticket, or having to explain to people what the trifecta or the superfecta is, and how to fill out a ticket on it.
Yeah, to us, it sounds pretty simple, but most people are really put off by all of it. I know this is true, because I ask people......I keep getting the same answers.
I know it will never happen, but my wish is that they drop all the exotic wagers and reduce the takeout to 10%.
I could then explain to people that betting to win, place or show on a carefully thoughtout selection is simply the best gamble in America.
Those of us who like to bet serious money to make additional income would still be there......even without the "Pick Six", and new people would be more likely to bet and even attend the races live, with an emphasis on the horses rather than the
damn "CARRYOVERS"........jmho.

[superfecta]

I must admit this is starting to get off subject,but I hope we never go back to WPS betting.Just as there are many stocks one can invest in to make or lose money,we as bettors should have options where to place our bets.I don't begrudge anyone from strictly win betting,if thats what they do well in,more power to them.Since I don't do well on straight bets,I find I can leverage my money by picking exotics.Some could argue that the advent of simulcasting has taken money away from the bettors home track,but if you can't win money at the track you happen to live by,maybe you can win money on an out of state track.Finding your edge and exploiting it is part of making money at this game.