Meadows Ends thier Pick-6 Guarantee Experiment

[RaceTrackDaddy]

The Meadows ended their guarantee pool of $6,000 of the Pick-6 wager this past Monday March 15th. Found out that they also ended up deducting the 20% retention rate on that wager so if someone hit it like they did on Monday, they would have to make up the difference to $4,800 instead of the $6,000.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the wager was not hit and the 4 day carryover now is a little over $600 (six hundred) for Monday's card. I really do not see this wager lasting much longer at the Meadows.

I have written many times in our local papers the need for the best wager in horse racing, the 10 cent superfecta. Every track that I have seen it used has both increased the pools and the number of races on the day's card that has that wager offered.

I guess they are trying to protect their small carryover pools like today when the two races that offered superfecta wagering failed to connect with a winning score. Carryover will be a little over 2k for Monday's 7th race. If they had dime wagering, the pools would be over 5k each day and if they had a couple day carryover, look out.

I have seen the great days of the Meadows in which a $20k trifecta or a $30k Big E was not uncommon. I had a friend back in the 70's hit a pick-6 spending $4 and taking down $10k (and he was holding one of the two tickets that were hit). They had no guarantee's, just people betting.


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[trying2win]

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems at The Meadows (and other Pennsylvania harness tracks as well) is the outrageouse track takeouts of 30 % plus on a lot of the 3 horse-or-more gimmicks. Hello Pennysylavania track managements!...your sugar coating of 'guaranteed pick 6' pools and such, aren't going to fool the bettors of today. They are more aware than ever of the onerous effects of high takeouts on their payoffs.

I don't know who is responsible for implementing those prepostereous takeouts in this state, but I wouldn't be surprised if some neanderthal-thinking state politicians were involved in the process with track managements and horsemen. If Pennsylvania harness tracks want to be competitive with other gambling games and thrive in the future, they are going to have to drastically lower the track takeouts on those gimmick bets, that are in the 30 % plus range.

T2W
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~"Stupid is, as stupid does."

--Forrest Gump's mother

[markgoldie]

It is exceedingly hard to overestimate the stupidity of The Meadows track management. Where they get the information on which they base their moronic decisions is far beyond all understanding. This ill-conceived wager was someone's brain child, but as has been said, was doomed to the ignoble death it suffered from the start.

As someone with a bit of first-hand knowledge of the warped thinking, track management hoped that the pools would rise to the degree that a huge carryover would create some badly-needed excitement. Towards this end, the poor race secretary was under pressure to card races in the pick six which were inscrutable so as to create carryovers. So we had a situation from the get-go where the track management was hyping a wager which they hoped would NOT be hit because (a) they didn't want to pay the guarantee and (b) they wanted a large carryover to advertise. Some bettor-friendly scenario this was! But such is the thinking, where bettors are thought of as stupid suckers, rather than the lifeblood that pays the bills.

As Race Track Daddy correctly notes, The Meadows should institute dime supers on all races with 7 or more betting interests and at least one dime Hi Five (pentafecta) wager on each card. Furthermore, the minimum wager on the trifecta should be lowered to 50 cents. While this won't counteract the onerous effects of the huge takeout in gimmicks, it will certainly boost the handle.

And while I'm on a rant, just who was the genius who decided to start Fridays' race cards at 3:55 PM?? Fridays are dark at Monticello, the main competition for harness wagering during the day, which any person with half a brain would understand might be a great time to gain wagering dollars. But instead, we start a "twilight" card, which not only negates this advantage, but runs the latter races directly into the opening races at NFLD and the BIG M. Consequently, the late races fall off a cliff when it comes to handle. But this has completely bypassed the geniuses who concocted this hairbrained scheme. The problem is not that some stooges are embarassing themelves with their idiotic decisions, but that some good, hard-working horsemen are suffering because of this gross incompetence.

[Pacingguy]

A Pick-6 at any track other the Meadowlands is stupid; there is not enough handle to make it worth while. The only track which could possibly offer it besides the Meadowlands, Yonkers doesn't because with only eight horses in a race, the races are too predictable to build up big pools.

That being said, the Meadows will never get big pools due to the takeout rates. Big gamblers just don't look at their program. Hopefully, if they see the Tioga experiment, perhaps they will change their ridiculous takeout rates.

[RaceTrackDaddy]

I sent out letters to the editors and eventually posted an editorial on my site and blog to which I copied and paste here:

Editorial
October 22, 2009

PA and its tracks are NOT fan friendly

The Pennsylvania racetracks and the laws pertaining to the wagering upon these races are NOT fan friendly.

In the early 90’s, the Pa state legislature and the PA Racing Commission changed the accounting methods of tracks retention rates on wagering on their racing product. Up till the change implemented, the procedure would calculate the odds based on subtracting the winning wagers from the total pool leaving the net pool to be multiplied by the retention rate and that money (goes to the track, state and horsemen) to be deducted from the net pool leaving the rest to be returned to the winning wagers.

Best example I can give you is a total pool of 10,000.00. $4,000 was wagered on the winning horse and the given is the retention rate of 20%. The net pool before retention would be $6,000. Applying the retention rate of 20%, would give you $1,200 to be deducted to go to the state, track and horsemen. The balance of $4,800 would be returned to the winning tickets (in this case 2,000 tickets.) The payoff would be $8,800.00 paid out to the public that translates into a $4.40 Win Ticket for those who bet correctly.

After the change of rules, they have since then to this very day take the retention rate on the total pool prior to deducting the winning tickets. In the example above, $10,000 was the total pool, now the retention rate is deducted which is $2,000.00 leaving the $8,000 balance to be distributed. Since there was $4,000 bet on the winner, would mean the $2 payout would now be $4.00. In essence, instead of winning $2.40 on your winning wager, you now would only win $4.00, a decrease of 16.67% of your winnings. This is what the state and racing commission put in place in the early 90’s.

If anyone thinks this is fan friendly, wait till you see the next example. The above retention of 20% seems high to the slot players, as their retention rate statewide is approximately 8.774% so far in 2009. The tracks highest retention rates tend to be in the trifecta pools. The Meadows is listed at 29%, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is 35%, Philly Park 30%, Penn National at 31% and Harrah’s Chester Downs is listed at 30%. I can honestly tell you all that nowhere in North America are the retention rates listed as high as in Pennsylvania.

A decade so or longer ago, the state also gave the horsemen a break by removing the state sales tax on the sale of the horses. No matter if the horse was claimed in a claiming race or a private sale, the state no longer took out the 6% sales tax.

So far, the state has done nothing for the consumer. Sure I got my first tax relief from the slot money last year with a deduction of $99 on my school taxes. I expected more this year as the state revenue from slots increased 30 percent but I only got the same deduction ($99) as last year but my school board rose my taxes both years which negated my so called tax relief. Seems to me the promise of the slots to give the homeowners tax relief was overstated; in that, the extent of the promise has not yet to be fulfilled.

The purse structure today is unreal. Some tracks have Maiden races worth $80k (maiden is a race where the entrants have yet won their first race). Lost in all this legislation is the common fan and homeowner. Seems to me there needs to be a revisiting of the slot bill by the legislature to design something to benefit those who have supported the community and racing in this state for decades.

First suggestion is to reinstate the sales tax on the sale of horses. The state is always increasing the tax on cigarettes and alcohol but who is most able to pay taxes are those who benefited from the Slot Legislation. Secondly I would suggest to change the method of calculating the winning wagers back to the prior system, in that, the tracks should not be permitted in taking a cut off of a winning wager but only take their percentage off of the losing wagers. That would increase the winning wagers by 16.67%. While we are on retention rates, I would suggest that all the rates in the state be reduced to a level where the state is the lowest in North America. You will see all the money pouring in from across the continent once they public is notified of the best return available for their wagering dollar is in PA. 35% of a total pool retention rate is highway robbery. Slot players get a rate of 8.774% and we are taxed 4 times as high.

In the event that the state keeps the present status quo, I suggest that every fan of horse racing in Pennsylvania refuse to attend, wager online, or even refuse to use your bookie for racing at a PA track. Our money can be wagered anywhere in the USA and this state and this racing industry have ignored their fans and tax payers long enough. It is time for the silent majority to be heard. Call your representative, your track operator and let them know that you do not want to be ripped off any more.





</B>Bob Zanakis

Editor





In my opinion, one of the biggest problems at The Meadows (and other Pennsylvania harness tracks as well) is the outrageouse track takeouts of 30 % plus on a lot of the 3 horse-or-more gimmicks. Hello Pennysylavania track managements!...your sugar coating of 'guaranteed pick 6' pools and such, aren't going to fool the bettors of today. They are more aware than ever of the onerous effects of high takeouts on their payoffs.

I don't know who is responsible for implementing those prepostereous takeouts in this state, but I wouldn't be surprised if some neanderthal-thinking state politicians were involved in the process with track managements and horsemen. If Pennsylvania harness tracks want to be competitive with other gambling games and thrive in the future, they are going to have to drastically lower the track takeouts on those gimmick bets, that are in the 30 % plus range.

T2W
-------------------------------------------------------------------

~"Stupid is, as stupid does."

--Forrest Gump's mother

[markgoldie]

Bob;

Just a couple of notes about your editorial: First, the tax on the sale of horses in Pa. only won't work because it would be non-competitive with other surrounding states. This means that horsemen could and would purchase and/or claim horses from surrounding states. Also, to the degree that it might inhibit in-state claiming activity, it would cause a deterioration in the competitiveness of races, making them even less attractive to bettors than what they are.

As far as the horsemen are concerned, they are far from getting rich due to the slot bill. Rather, they are able in some cases to make a living whereas before it was virtually impossible without huge subsidies from contributing owners. Furthermore, the claw-backs by the state have already begun and purses are already going down due to increased taxation which was not in the original tax bill. But the state has the legislative power to change anything they have done or guaranteed in the past. And so we can expect the government monster with it's insatiable appetite for revenue to continue with more claw-backs in the future.

As I have written here in the past, the only reason racing got a break in the first place was due to the anti-gambling lobby who opposed the gaming bill. This led the pro-gaming interests to use mostly already existing facilities (the racetracks) for slot location. The argument was that gambling was already taking place in these establishments and so adding slots was not a super escalation of gambling opportunity. But the fact of the matter is that neither the state government nor the gaming industry cares a wit for racing. They view it as nothing more than a vehicle for generating cash.

Therefore, your idea of a ban in order to "punish" the state won't work. First, because the amount of revenue generated by race wagering is puny compared to slot revenue and second because it will only bolster the arguments of the gaming industry that Pa.'s best course would be replace any shrinking revenue from racing by adding table games and sports' wagering. This is where things are headed anyway and I fear any boycott will simply speed the process up.

[pandy]

I've written about this in my column in Harness Eye and the USTA as well as on my websites. I can't understand why PA. doesn't lower the trifecta takeout. It appears obvious that since they raised the takeout the trifectas pools have consistently declined, so all it's done is hurt their bottom line. And now they that are making a big profit on slots, it seems like an ideal time to lower the takeout. Don't they understand that gamblers will not bet into a 35% take?

[markgoldie]

I've written about this in my column in Harness Eye and the USTA as well as on my websites. I can't understand why PA. doesn't lower the trifecta takeout. It appears obvious that since they raised the takeout the trifectas pools have consistently declined, so all it's done is hurt their bottom line. And now they that are making a big profit on slots, it seems like an ideal time to lower the takeout. Don't they understand that gamblers will not bet into a 35% take?
Bob;

They don't care. Time was when they might have, but now that gaming is at the forefront of state tax revenues, they understand that the future growth of gambling taxation will only come from expansion of gaming.

However, there is actually another little-understood calculation that goes into this. And that is that the overall handle of the track is only largely important as to IN-STATE wagering for both the track and the state-tax revenue it produces. That's because fluctuations of simulcast dollars is only relevant as to the small amount that they charge for the signal. Hence, the feeling may be that in-state wagering is somewhat captive to the fact that a local audience tends to wager on local events anyway. And that loss of out-of-state wagering dollars is only fractionally significant.