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[Mason]

There have been some wonderful answers given so far, but I will answer what you have posted directly.

aa) I would think the best races, such as a Group 1, would have the biggest pools. You can only access pools on the actual raceday, as the HKJC does not have them in their charts. Most HK races go from $700,000 - $2,000,000 for purse money, however take the big race this past weekend, the QEII Cup where the purse was $25,000,00 HK. The track doesn't have a "take" on the purses, so no, there isn't a formula (on my opinion)

bb) Drafting is huge in the shorter races. I think in the longer races, where you would like to have cover, it is the stamina that usually wins the marathon distance races. You will see once they turn past the 400 meters, they are all across the track making their runs.

cc) I don't think you can compare distance and longshots, however the lower class races anything can happen at any track. Yenzatta wouldn't win going 6 furlongs, so would you still bet her at 1/5? A horse that doesn't fit the distance or the class level is not worth the bet.

dd) Surface doesn't matter regarding longshots, but on the off chance they do run on the all weather, check the record over the surface. If they aren't hitting the board in 4+ tries, then I would proceed with caution. Was it the surface, or the class they are running, or the wrong distance, so many factors come into a decision like that, hence the proceed with caution warning.

ee) Griffin races are the maiden baby events and aren't popular with the HK bettors. Class 5 is lowest for winners, Class 1 is the toughest before you get into the Open races and Stakes races. So the longshots usually would happen in Griffin or Class 3-4-5. The closer to class 1 the more formful it "should" be. But this is HK and everyone has a fighting chance if recent form is good enough to mark them as a contender.

ff) Ted had a great answer as his 2. but to touch on the final odds, they don't show them going around the track as North America does. The tote delay-update is probably mere seconds to the most accurate price in HK, unlike the snails pace of the outdated technology we have here for live racing. Pat Cummings does an outstanding job following the HKJC

gg) Yes. Advance-deposit wagering (ADW)

hh) I believe Ted had the answer for you, but no, you could not do that. Why? ADW's require your personal info upon signing up, and your state doesn't allow it so they would not permit an account under your name, address, SSN, due to state restrictions.

No cost for wagers online or at the OTB and most OTB's do not offer HK due to how late they run. However I would look into which online provider offers the best rewards.

ii) Once again Ted had a fantastic response in his #3. a)

jj) I will try to use US $ explanation, as it should be easier. Let's use today's 9th race from Happy Valley this morning.

The QU paid $66.36 for a $1.30 bet (a $2.60 bet pays $132.72)

The QU pool was $51,092,279 in US$

After the takeout of 17.5% it = $42,151,130 left to pay out to the winners.

$42,151,130 million divided by the $1.30 QU payout of $66.36 means $635,188 was bet on the correct result. If you would have bet $2,600 (2,000 bets at $1.30 each) here in the states, the QU payoff would have dropped by .21 cents, paying $66.15 and your huge bet would have paid $132,300

Using pools provided by twinspires & my rough math, that a big bet doesn't dent the pools at all over there. Maybe Ted can feel free to check my math, however, I am going off of what my ADW provided. AmWager shows the actual HK$ pools if I am not mistaken.