Do You Think Betting Should Be Cut Off At 1 MTP

[Cangamble]

Odds will still change as batching programs will still identify overlays at 2 MTP and cause those horses to drop in odds. But by the time the race goes off, the odds should be set. One thing that won't happen is people won't be able to bet or cancel maybe a second or two or 10 into the race. It is probably best for pool integrity to close at 1 MTP.
But is it worth getting shut out over this? And since we are in the 21st Century, it should be a given that no new bets will be accepted when the gates open, but unfortunately, it isn't.

[andymays]

I would like betting to close at the moment the gate opens. The technology must exist to make this work.

[Relwob Owner]

Originally Posted by Cangamble

Odds will still change as batching programs will still identify overlays at 2 MTP and cause those horses to drop in odds. But by the time the race goes off, the odds should be set. One thing that won't happen is people won't be able to bet or cancel maybe a second or two or 10 into the race. It is probably best for pool integrity to close at 1 MTP.
But is it worth getting shut out over this? And since we are in the 21st Century, it should be a given that no new bets will be accepted when the gates open, but unfortunately, it isn't.

My opinion is yes, it should, assuming the techology doesnt exist to do it when the gates open(which it is fair to say does not exist now because of recent mess ups). People complain they will be shut put but if there is a solid, set time, bettors will adjust.

[Canadian]

Here is an angle in Harness racing I have used before. With trotters, well before the gate opens, often 1 or 2 horses are out of the race via braking, before the race even starts. Sometimes the bettor has 2 to 8 seconds to make a quick decision on whether to make a bet or not. I have in the past got good prices on horses that were kept high because of being braking risks and have bet them only after seeing them looking on the game and not braking as they came down the stretch They can still brake shortly after and into the turn or anywhere else- and that has happened- But dodging that break at the gate and just seeing if they are trotting definately helps.

Also, if you like a trotter say at 5,8 or 10-1, you can see how the favorites are approaching the gate, I've also won money by blurting out a $50 win on a horse after seeing the 1-2 favorite brake going down the stretch.

I would think that if you were dissiplined enough you could turn that into a long term winning angle.................... Unfortunately, I'm not nearly that dissiplined.

[Cangamble]

Originally Posted by Canadian

Here is an angle in Harness racing I have used before. With trotters, well before the gate opens, often 1 or 2 horses are out of the race via braking, before the race even starts. Sometimes the bettor has 2 to 8 seconds to make a quick decision on whether to make a bet or not. I have in the past got good prices on horses that were kept high because of being braking risks and have bet them only after seeing them looking on the game and not braking as they came down the stretch They can still brake shortly after and into the turn or anywhere else- and that has happened- But dodging that break at the gate and just seeing if they are trotting definately helps.

Also, if you like a trotter say at 5,8 or 10-1, you can see how the favorites are approaching the gate, I've also won money by blurting out a $50 win on a horse after seeing the 1-2 favorite brake going down the stretch.

I would think that if you were dissiplined enough you could turn that into a long term winning angle.................... Unfortunately, I'm not nearly that dissiplined.

I think most bettors are turned off by this type of angle. In fact, there was a betting syndicate at Woodbine and Greenwood in the early 80's or maybe even the late 70's (I'm not Larry King so I don't remember exactly) that bet a contender and sometimes a couple of contenders a race in a very large way, and they would cancel the ticket if the horse didn't get out good in harness races mostly. There were a few tellers that were in on the syndicate as well....they knew how important it was to cancel the bets (I think they had up to 30 seconds after the race started).

[Cangamble]

It would be nice to see why people are voting no to this question. I know track execs won't like this idea because of gate scratches and the opportunity bettors have to make replacement bets, and also track execs know that the bulk of the money is actually placed around 2 MTP and less.
But I think bettors will adjust if the rules are laid out, much like NFL bettors know that they have to have their bets in by 1 PM for early games.

[oddsmaven]

I'm okay with betting until the gate opens...either way you aren't going to be able to bet & guarantee getting the odds you see until the final bets are added in after it closes...for those that see the odds drop on a winner when the race is in progress, they need to realize that these betes were made before the gate opened...as far as cancelling bets - that shouldn't be allowed at the end.

[miesque]

I would prefer the cut-off to be as soon as the first horse loads into the starting gate, I think thats a good compromise.

[BillW]

Originally Posted by miesque

I would prefer the cut-off to be as soon as the first horse loads into the starting gate, I think thats a good compromise.

I would agree except that there needs to be a good solution for when the 8th horse in backs out/breaks thru etc. then consequently gets scratched. Leaving the pools locked thru this doesn't work for me.

[Dave Schwartz]

I think that the racing industry has it backwards... The gate does not open and THEN the betting stops. The betting should be completed and all pools locked down before the horses load the gate.

[David-LV]

Originally Posted by andymays

I would like betting to close at the moment the gate opens. The technology must exist to make this work.

I agree with you 100% that betting should close at the moment the gate opens.

All other methods have been tried with very limited if any success as most of the betting is done at or near to post time as possible.

If the New York Stock Exchange can post a trade that can be viewed worldwide within seconds then the geniuses that own these racetracks have to invest the money into updating their systems to bring pari-mutual out of the dark ages.

_______
David-LV

[stu]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

I think that the racing industry has it backwards... The gate does not open and THEN the betting stops. The betting should be completed and all pools locked down before the horses load the gate.

I vote for this as well.

[macguy]

No betting shouldn't be cut off at 1MTP.

The same people that screw up pushing the button to stop betting when the gates open are the same people that are going to screw up when they are supposed to stop betting at 1MTP.

If you were to have the tote automatically stop accepting wagers at 1MTP, you open up a whole bunch of cans of worms.

The biggest deal would be the very common delays that occur when the horses are loading/getting ready to load, late scratches, etc. You could easily end up losing upwards of 5 minutes of betting per race, which translates into A LOT of handle.

As we all know, and as mentioned above, the vast majority of betting is done in the last few minutes prior to the gates opening. I doubt very much any racetrack would be willing to give that up.

[njcurveball]

Originally Posted by Canadian

Here is an angle in Harness racing I have used before. With trotters, well before the gate opens, often 1 or 2 horses are out of the race via braking, before the race even starts. .

Often? Where does this happen Often with one or two horses per race, I want to play there.

[Canadian]

If you were going to do it.... You would have to have a big count down clock come up on the screen somewhere with 1 minute left........ so people knew exactly how long they had.