Betfair liquidity on US races

[Inglewood Flamingo]

Any of you know how to obtain such figures or do any of you match wagers on the exchange regularly enough to know? Yes I am aware that US residents are barred from playing there but I thought I would ask anyway.

[DeanT]

You can download them each week - all markets and add them up. I think their API allows similar.

It pretty much comes down to what race is on TV in the UK on their channels. Penn National can match a pile if it is on TV, while a stakes race opposite it at some really top track can match peanuts if not on TV. Also, tight faves in a market that can be traded have a big matched market, but a lot of it is trading money, so it is skewed.

In general, liquidity is fairly good.

[Some_One]

Well the Magna tracks don't seem to have much liquidity, they don't have the Betfair SP option and you need to wait late to get a decent overround book. If there is a choice (aside from Hollywood), CDSN track are usually at the bottom of the list, rarely see a FG or Crc unless it's a slow day. All the 'independent' tracks like Sun, Penn, TP, DeD have pretty good liquidity.

[gm10]

It depends on whether the track is shown on TV or Betfair Video, on the time of the day and on how many tracks are live at the same time.

Penn, Charlestown, Delta Downs betting pools are usually big enough to have a decent wager (at least $20,000, sometimes $100,000 or more).
New York and California tracks are always pretty good.
Gulfstream been doing ok this year.
And of course there is the old stalwart formerly known as Philadelphia Park!

Rule of thumb ... if the race is available for watching (TV/internet), there'll be a pretty good betting pool.

[teddy]

How is the betfair model going to supply purses for all these tracks with a 5% rake. Is it as simple as increased handle..

[Some_One]

How is the betfair model going to supply purses for all these tracks with a 5% rake. Is it as simple as increased handle..

1)People will bet more, including those who might not like a particular horse in a race, but really hate a particular horse in a race
2)Rake is based on net winnings, not total bet, so given an average 5-1 type winner in an average 8 horse field, I estimated that the effective takeout percentage was between 7-8%
3)Some popular US tracks already do more handle on Betfair then what you see in the win pools currently, its a larger pool of players worldwide who can bet into Betfair vs TVG/Xpresss...etc
4)Betfair will only be a viable option for Win & Place betting, tracks will still be able to make their 20 cents on the dollar with P3's and Supers (Currently, you can bet into the US tote on Betfair except for Canadians)

As I typed this, a cheap UK 5f handicap just went off and it did 1.1 Million dollars, do you really think tracks would say no to that?

[gm10]

How is the betfair model going to supply purses for all these tracks with a 5% rake. Is it as simple as increased handle..

Simples. Existing gamblers will bet more and a lot of new gamblers will be attracted because it's a lot easier to make money. I pay 4.5% takeout. That is really not impossible to overcome for a lot of people.

And the betting is a lot more fun in general. You have so many more options when you can lay a horse. Not just betting, but also arbitraging, hedge existing bets (if you are live in the last leg of the P6 and your selection is a short price, just lay it to guarantee yourself at least some profit).

[nearco]

What amazes me is that on a site such as this, chock to the gills with hardcore handicappers, that there is not more or a buzz or clamoring for exchange betting. There seems to be a general disinterest. I would have thought HANA would be lobbying for exchanges like Wimpy lobbying for 50c quarter pounders.

[TheGhostOfOscarB]

Most horseplayers are clueless when it comes to the math of the betting game.