Oskar
08-27-2012, 07:18 AM
Foolish New York Entry Rule Hurting the Game
Bill Finley
More than anything else, harness racing needs to reinvigorate
interest among bettors, and yesterday's filly division of
the Zweig Memorial at Vernon Downs should have been
exactly the kind of race that horseplayers get excited about.
Though there was a standout in Check Me Out, there was
a large field with nine horses, including a few with an
upset chance. And even if the player concluded that
Check Me Out couldn't lose, the battle for second, third
and fourth was a puzzling one that should have made
exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagering appealing.
But thanks to an archaic rule that the New York State
Racing and Wagering Board stubbornly and foolishly
clings to, the filly version of the Zweig was turned into a
race that no one in their right mind possibly could have
wagered on. The handle figure on the race was not available
at this writing, but it was likely in the neighborhood of
a dollar forty-five.
A decent betting race with nine horses was turned into a
three-horse race for wagering purposes because
NYSRWB rules required that four horses owned in part by
Brittany Farms had to race as an entry as did three others
with common ownership. What was left was a race where
only win wagering was accepted and the Ray
Schnittker-trained entry topped by winner Check Me Out
paid $2.20.
Perhaps there was a time when such a rule was necessary
to protect bettors. When the betting pools were large
and the purses were modest, owners and trainers had an
incentive to fool around to cash a bet. Those days are
long, long gone.
The purse for this race was $150,000. A typical race at
Vernon might attract $20,000 in wagering. Thus the
NYSRWB is maintaining that someone might just play
games to win a few thousands bucks in a race where the
winner takes home $75,000. That is,quite obviously,
asinine.
Under the leadership of John Sabini, the New York State
Racing and Wagering Board has been proactive and has
worked overtime to clean up thoroughbred and standardbred
racing in the state. In that respect, it has been a
breath of fresh air. But its zeal to police the sport has
stood in the way of basic common sense when it comes to
entry rules.
With big purses and tiny betting pools at most New York
tracks, the harness game has never been more honest, at
least when it comes to attempted betting coups. Any and
all incentive to stiff a horse or play games in order to cash
a bet has been taken away by the huge disparity between
purses and the betting pools.
There shouldn't be any entries in any races. With the
harness game so desperate for betting customers, every
effort must be made to encourage people to bet and nothing
turns off the customers faster than a race with three
betting interests and win wagering only.
Getting rid of all entries might be too much to wish for.
OK, so how about a rule, as a first step, where there are
no entries in races worth $100,000 or more? In too many
instances, the NYSRWB is standing in the way of harness
racing being an attractive betting product, and that's bad
for the game
(harnessracingupdate.com)
Bill Finley
More than anything else, harness racing needs to reinvigorate
interest among bettors, and yesterday's filly division of
the Zweig Memorial at Vernon Downs should have been
exactly the kind of race that horseplayers get excited about.
Though there was a standout in Check Me Out, there was
a large field with nine horses, including a few with an
upset chance. And even if the player concluded that
Check Me Out couldn't lose, the battle for second, third
and fourth was a puzzling one that should have made
exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagering appealing.
But thanks to an archaic rule that the New York State
Racing and Wagering Board stubbornly and foolishly
clings to, the filly version of the Zweig was turned into a
race that no one in their right mind possibly could have
wagered on. The handle figure on the race was not available
at this writing, but it was likely in the neighborhood of
a dollar forty-five.
A decent betting race with nine horses was turned into a
three-horse race for wagering purposes because
NYSRWB rules required that four horses owned in part by
Brittany Farms had to race as an entry as did three others
with common ownership. What was left was a race where
only win wagering was accepted and the Ray
Schnittker-trained entry topped by winner Check Me Out
paid $2.20.
Perhaps there was a time when such a rule was necessary
to protect bettors. When the betting pools were large
and the purses were modest, owners and trainers had an
incentive to fool around to cash a bet. Those days are
long, long gone.
The purse for this race was $150,000. A typical race at
Vernon might attract $20,000 in wagering. Thus the
NYSRWB is maintaining that someone might just play
games to win a few thousands bucks in a race where the
winner takes home $75,000. That is,quite obviously,
asinine.
Under the leadership of John Sabini, the New York State
Racing and Wagering Board has been proactive and has
worked overtime to clean up thoroughbred and standardbred
racing in the state. In that respect, it has been a
breath of fresh air. But its zeal to police the sport has
stood in the way of basic common sense when it comes to
entry rules.
With big purses and tiny betting pools at most New York
tracks, the harness game has never been more honest, at
least when it comes to attempted betting coups. Any and
all incentive to stiff a horse or play games in order to cash
a bet has been taken away by the huge disparity between
purses and the betting pools.
There shouldn't be any entries in any races. With the
harness game so desperate for betting customers, every
effort must be made to encourage people to bet and nothing
turns off the customers faster than a race with three
betting interests and win wagering only.
Getting rid of all entries might be too much to wish for.
OK, so how about a rule, as a first step, where there are
no entries in races worth $100,000 or more? In too many
instances, the NYSRWB is standing in the way of harness
racing being an attractive betting product, and that's bad
for the game
(harnessracingupdate.com)