Originally Posted by sharkie187
I have noticed that the sport has been declining for a few years now. When I returned from overseas and went to SA on a brght sunny Saturday, I saw the grandstands 1/4 filled what it use to be in the late 80s and early 90s.
From a betting standpoint...Here’s what I saw in the UK that made horse/dog racing popular.
-The betting focus is only win bets on a single race or parlays.
America has way too many wagering options: exacta, quinella, tri, super, high 5, double, pick3-6, roulette...some of these all on one race! The UK does offer exactas/tri or the bookies version “forecast/tricast” but thats not the main focus. Its simply win bets. And you either place your bet through the tote (same as the US) or take the bookie’s fixed odds which can be HIGHER than the tote.
-No limit on wagering.
Here’s where its vastly different. In the US, some states offer a minimum $1 WPS bet but the majority is $2. The UK tote is the same with a minimum £1 Win or Place bet. But the bookies...do not have a MINIMUM limit! Now, supposedly the rule is 50p as the minimum, but I’ve been to a few betting shops where guys were playing 10p, 15p, 25p win bets! And the public knows this and take full advantage of it! Can you imagine a fan going to a casino in Las Vegas trying to bet 50 cents to win on a horse at Gulfstream? They’d be laugh out of the casino.
-Paying out to more than 1st/2nd/3rd
For big races and big meets, there are advertisements everywhere on which bookie to go to to bet the big race! They got full page ads on newspapers, tv commericals, or web ads of the bookie’s name, name/time
Of the race, and entries and their odds. Then you see the subnote... each way (win or place)paying out to 5,6,or 7 places! Of course this big race has a minimum of 20 entries usually (Grand National, Queen’s Plate, Gold Cup, etc) but still to pay out to the 7th place finisher!!! If that doesn’t bring in crowds, I dont know what does...and its still 20p (or whatever).
-What do you want to bet on?
UK bookies usually take whatever bet the patrons give them. I can’t tell you how many times I made a parlay bet using different tracks at once! And you can cross sport the parlay too! I remember parlaying a horse at Newcastle with Manchester United beating Sunderland at 50p! The UK bookies have figured out to let the fans bet how they want to bet at whatever price.
Here in the US, the guys running the show tell us what we CAN bet on and there’s no crossing sports betting. Actually, until last year, I didn’t see parlays offered at the track anymore!
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