Isn't it time for tote board to move into digital age?

[therussmeister]

But of course, tote boards are digital.

[Dark Horse]

No good reason not to run horse racing like the stock market. Buy and sell at the prices offered, or place offers at prices that will be filled when the line moves. The problem with the exchange format is liquidity, but if that format is directly tied into the action at the tracks that would be solved.

Anyway. Funny how horse racing is losing in popularity, but is not stepping up to the plate to make it more attractive to players. Not asking horse racing to lead the way, but to follow the lead that other fields took decades ago.

[iwearpurple]

Originally Posted by tanner12oz

Why dont they just show how much its going to pay based upon a 2 dollar base wager? Explaining odds and breakage to first timers is an immediate trip to the slot parlor vs the racetrack

Canterbury Park shows the exact amount that a win wager would pay.

[levinmpa]

The toteboard odds that North American tracks employ is a pet peeve of mine. Here is something I posted in another thread awhile back.


One thing I would like to see on the American tote board is doing away with odds displayed in fractions, as in 7/5 or 9/2. I understand they only want to show odds in 2 digits on the tote board. I'm fine with 2 digits, but I wish they would use decimals up to the number 10. 8/5 can mean 1.6 to 1 or 1.7 to 1, so why not just show 1.6 or 1.7 on the tote board. 5/2 can mean, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9 to 1. In 2013, there is no reason why these odds should not be expressed in a 2 digit decimal. I want to know if the 6/1 I'm seeing on the toteboard is 6.0 or 6.9 to 1, without having to break out a calculator. Seems like a no brainer to me. Australian racing always expresses their odds in decimals, which I really like.

And while I'm on a rant, can we please fix the breakage issue. Breaking to a dime is just flat out stealing money from the players. A big show bettor gets robbed when a show price that should pay $2.39 gets cut down to $2.20. If I wager $1000 to show in this case, I should get $1195, but with the breakage, I would lose almost half my profit and would only get $1100. I can live with nickel breakage, even though in this technology age, it's unnecessary. If a track can't survive without breaking to a dime, they shouldn't be in business. To keep money that belongs to the players because it's "inconvenient" for the tellers to pay the change, is just outright stealing. I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of class action lawsuit regarding the practice of breaking to a dime or breaking at all. If I had the time or energy, I would pursue this.

[tanner12oz]

Originally Posted by levinmpa

The toteboard odds that North American tracks employ is a pet peeve of mine. Here is something I posted in another thread awhile back.


One thing I would like to see on the American tote board is doing away with odds displayed in fractions, as in 7/5 or 9/2. I understand they only want to show odds in 2 digits on the tote board. I'm fine with 2 digits, but I wish they would use decimals up to the number 10. 8/5 can mean 1.6 to 1 or 1.7 to 1, so why not just show 1.6 or 1.7 on the tote board. 5/2 can mean, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9 to 1. In 2013, there is no reason why these odds should not be expressed in a 2 digit decimal. I want to know if the 6/1 I'm seeing on the toteboard is 6.0 or 6.9 to 1, without having to break out a calculator. Seems like a no brainer to me. Australian racing always expresses their odds in decimals, which I really like.

And while I'm on a rant, can we please fix the breakage issue. Breaking to a dime is just flat out stealing money from the players. A big show bettor gets robbed when a show price that should pay $2.39 gets cut down to $2.20. If I wager $1000 to show in this case, I should get $1195, but with the breakage, I would lose almost half my profit and would only get $1100. I can live with nickel breakage, even though in this technology age, it's unnecessary. If a track can't survive without breaking to a dime, they shouldn't be in business. To keep money that belongs to the players because it's "inconvenient" for the tellers to pay the change, is just outright stealing. I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of class action lawsuit regarding the practice of breaking to a dime or breaking at all. If I had the time or energy, I would pursue this.

its funny cuz the tracks break it and then the tellers dont give you your change further breaking it

[Some_One]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

No good reason not to run horse racing like the stock market. Buy and sell at the prices offered, or place offers at prices that will be filled when the line moves. The problem with the exchange format is liquidity, but if that format is directly tied into the action at the tracks that would be solved.

No liquidity issues on UK racing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM5L2QnwbV4

[davew]

Originally Posted by appistappis

you are putting the cart before the horse.....the last thing i want too see is betting a horse at 3.25 to 1 and then having him go to 8.56 to 5 leaving the far turn.

There are some ADWs that show odds in tenths and returns per dollar bet in win pool

ex 2.4 which is $6.80/$2 or $3.4/$1


so 2/1 on toteboard would include 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 seen at these ADWs

[biggestal99]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

No good reason not to run horse racing like the stock market. Buy and sell at the prices offered, or place offers at prices that will be filled when the line moves. The problem with the exchange format is liquidity, but if that format is directly tied into the action at the tracks that would be solved.

Anyway. Funny how horse racing is losing in popularity, but is not stepping up to the plate to make it more attractive to players. Not asking horse racing to lead the way, but to follow the lead that other fields took decades ago.

Exchange wagering will be offeredin jersey soon. No liquidity problems betting on most markets in the uk. 100 of thousands in matched bets on mostraces there. Can it be sucessfull in the us, time willtell

Allana

[thespaah]

Originally Posted by Tape Reader

As I recall they also approximated place returns.

Actually the display gave the win price as it stood at that flash. Place and show prices were displayed as a range from a low to a high.
The Roosevelt tote had it's own moniker, "Westbury Tote"....I think that term is in Tom Ainslie's Complete guide to Harness Racing. I have it here someplace. I will look.

[thespaah]

I have the book. There is a photo illustration of the Roosevelt unique tote board.
Why other tracks never picked up on this idea is a mystery.
I will scan the photo from the book tomorrow.

[thespaah]

for some reason the attach files button is greyed out....can't upload picture.what gives?

[thespaah]

ok got it done....it's in a zip file...
This is an image of the Roosevelt tote board.

[thespaah]

To view, open the zip file. Then you can zoom in to see better details

[Longshot6977]

That's a cool toteboard with the WPS payout ranges. But I wonder where/how they displayed the money in those pools. Did it change functions every minute or something?

[Tape Reader]

Originally Posted by thespaah

I have the book. There is a photo illustration of the Roosevelt unique tote board.
Why other tracks never picked up on this idea is a mystery.
I will scan the photo from the book tomorrow.

Thank you. That pic brings back memories.

As a tote board reader, I used to design special charts to plot the tote. Arithmetic, log and semi-log. Me and my two friends (heavy Jewish accent, heavy Hungarian accent, and me, Brooklyn) would attract lots of attention transcribing numbers to the work sheet. My Jew friend was the enforcer to onlookers: “get lost, low life.” We did OK.

That was over forty years ago. Maybe we can have an update to the tote boards?