new contest formats ?

[djm1959]

ok we all know the general kind of contests,, win place with 20-1 cap on win and 10-1 place.. what would be a new way to make a contest format?

win only?
wps?

anyone have a suggestion on a format thats unique?

let me know


thanks
don

[davew]

here's a couple

show odds
-pick a horse to show, get points of the win odds if it does show

exacta box
- pick 3 horses to ExB, get points of pay-off if it does exacta

[therussmeister]

Originally Posted by davew

here's a couple

show odds
-pick a horse to show, get points of the win odds if it does show

exacta box
- pick 3 horses to ExB, get points of pay-off if it does exacta

I can't remember the last time I bought six combos in an exacts, would I be allowed a two horse box three times?

[raybo]

Why not have a contest that determines the best win handicapper, not the most profitable bettor. Everyone bets $2 per race, bet a single horse to win, in all races, highest hit rate wins. Ties are broken by ROI. Races not bet count as a loss. All the other contests end up being longshot contests, get lucky with a pick or two and you might win.

Maybe there have been hit rate contests before, but I don't remember hearing of any. However, I'm not a contest player and have little knowledge of what has been done in the past.

[aaron]

Originally Posted by raybo

Why not have a contest that determines the best win handicapper, not the most profitable bettor. Everyone bets $2 per race, bet a single horse to win, in all races, highest hit rate wins. Ties are broken by ROI. Races not bet count as a loss. All the other contests end up being longshot contests, get lucky with a pick or two and you might win.

Maybe there have been hit rate contests before, but I don't remember hearing of any. However, I'm not a contest player and have little knowledge of what has been done in the past.

The otb's on Long Island used to have the exact contest you are describing. It was a lot of fun.

[raybo]

Originally Posted by aaron

The otb's on Long Island used to have the exact contest you are describing. It was a lot of fun.

It just seems that the "most likely to win" horse has been relegated to "less important" status in at least the last couple of decades. The ability to find "value" in a race depends significantly on the handicapper's ability to determine which horse has to be beaten by any so called "value" horse.

The ability to find the most likely winner applies to not only that likely winner, but also applies to the chances of any other horse in the race winning, and that is important in determining good "value" plays. Anybody can bet a longer odds horse, and hope, but he/she still has to beat the most likely winner.

[Redboard]

I was thinking about having another survivor contest. Five days, pick one horse per day, if your horse hits the board you survive. Winner is survivor with the highest accumulated show payout.

[thaskalos]

How about a contest that mimicks the way we play the game in real life? We are given a set bankroll, and the only rule is that we are supposed to wager a certain amount each race. WE pick the races to wager on...and WE decide what wager to make in each race. And whoever has the biggest bankroll after a predetermined period of time wins.

[Stillriledup]

Have a very low cap like 15 for win and 8 to place. That would put players in positions where they aren't ever going to have to worry about having to select a horse they might not otherwise bet in real life and won't have to worry about a lesser handicapper beating them on an outlier. In such a short sample of races, you take out a lot of the luck factor. Now, if this was a one year contest with thousands of picks , you wouldn't need a cap, the cream would rise to the top, with a really short sample and a low cap, the emphasis is on picking a decent amount of winners and not having to worry about losing to a worse handicapper on a stab.

[Pedalcar]

Colonial Downs had an on-line contest that went something like this:

4 races on one day or spread over several days

Race 1 bet 20.00 to win on a specified race

Race 2 30.00 on an exacta straight and/or boxed on a specified race.

Race 3 40.00 on a triple straight and/or boxed on a specified race.

Race 4 50.00 on a superfecta straight and/or boxed on a specified race.

The amount of money bet could be different and the types of bet could be anywhere from a .10 super to a 50.00 straight bet.

Total up the winnings after 4 races and declare the winner.

[Robes]

Originally Posted by raybo

Why not have a contest that determines the best win handicapper, not the most profitable bettor. Everyone bets $2 per race, bet a single horse to win, in all races, highest hit rate wins. Ties are broken by ROI. Races not bet count as a loss. All the other contests end up being longshot contests, get lucky with a pick or two and you might win.

Maybe there have been hit rate contests before, but I don't remember hearing of any. However, I'm not a contest player and have little knowledge of what has been done in the past.

Hey man what are you trying to do? Your way will make all these contests games of skill,that will force all these stabers aka handicappers of the year,champions, etc,have to compete against real handicappers and w/o stabbing allowed they will have no chance to win, and they probably will quit the contests and horse betting and start playing the lottery,so a lot of dead money in the pools will disappear and that is no good for the real hamdiccapers.

[Robes]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

Have a very low cap like 15 for win and 8 to place. That would put players in positions where they aren't ever going to have to worry about having to select a horse they might not otherwise bet in real life and won't have to worry about a lesser handicapper beating them on an outlier. In such a short sample of races, you take out a lot of the luck factor. Now, if this was a one year contest with thousands of picks , you wouldn't need a cap, the cream would rise to the top, with a really short sample and a low cap, the emphasis is on picking a decent amount of winners and not having to worry about losing to a worse handicapper on a stab.

No good,makes these contests instead of of the lotteries they are now to something that it will actually take skill to win,and that will force the stabers to retire.

[horseplayer407]

So are we going to have a contest of any kind?

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by Robes

No good,makes these contests instead of of the lotteries they are now to something that it will actually take skill to win,and that will force the stabers to retire.

You're right, what was I thinking trying to suggest a way to make it more skill based!

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Robes

No good,makes these contests instead of of the lotteries they are now to something that it will actually take skill to win,and that will force the stabers to retire.

Don't tell me...let me guess. You are another one of those highly skilled handicappers, who hates the luck-factor in the game...because it allows some of those "lucky" players out there to walk away with profits that would otherwise be yours. Am I right?