The toteboard at Churchill Downs shows odds on a horse and the amount currently wagered on them. The odds are subject to change as more money is bet. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn an interview with Casino.org<\/em>, TIF Executive Director Cummings also noted that the takeout — the amount the tracks withhold from the betting pool — on pari-mutuel wagers is significantly higher than for fixed-odds bets.<\/p>\nThe higher the takeout, the less return the bettor gets on their investment and the more likely they are to consider other, more lucrative betting options.<\/p>\n
The foundation isn\u2019t alone when it comes to pushing for fixed-odds.<\/p>\n
In a recent WalletHub study on the Kentucky Derby, the director of the University of Louisville\u2019s Equine Industry Program signaled his support.<\/p>\n
Racing needs to do a better job of teaching the game to younger people and getting them interested in participating,\u201d<\/strong> Sean Beirne said. \u201cWe really need to incorporate fixed-odds wagering, that would really help new players to the game.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nKentucky’s wagering laws allow for only pari-mutuel betting. But Churchill Downs has sought to give bettors more options when it comes to the Derby.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission gave preliminary approval to allow limited head-to-head wagering on horses. Nonetheless, the track eventually decided to hold off on it for this year.<\/p>\n
Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, told Casino.org<\/em> he would like to see innovative strategies considered to help the industry. However, there are some concerns about the impact fixed-odds racing would bring to the sport.<\/p>\nFirst, by reducing the takeout, it would reduce the amount set aside for the jockeys, trainers, and others who work to make the races happen each day. If, for example, the takeout dropped from 20 percent to 5 percent, the new betting system would need to generate four times the revenue in order to make up for the cut.<\/p>\n
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Fixed-odds betting also would likely mean the end of — or at least a significant reduction to — massive long shots. In the pari-mutuel system, it\u2019s not uncommon to see horses reach odds of 50-1 or higher as the money flows toward other horses in the race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Country House, the winner of this year\u2019s Kentucky Derby went off at 65-1, making him the second highest-priced winner ever in the 145-year history of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot to be desired about pari-mutuel betting,\u201d Waldrop said.<\/p>\n
Push on for Larger Fields<\/h2>\n Waldrop said one of the things that make the entire Derby Day card — and not just the signature race itself — attractive is that each race features deep fields that give bettors more selections.<\/p>\n
The smallest fields at Churchill for the Kentucky Derby race card were seven-horse races, with 11 of the 14 races featuring at least 10 horses.<\/p>\n
On Saturday at Pimlico, 12 of the 14 races for the day will have at least nine entrants.<\/p>\n
The average field size last year, according to Equibase data, was 8.3 horses. That marked a 7.5 percent increase from 2017, thanks mainly to a 10 percent reduction in races from the previous year.<\/strong><\/p>\nWaldrop said the industry is making a push to encourage tracks to keep fields bigger, even if that means fewer races or meet dates since the number of racers have declined by about 20,000 in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe product is still strong when the fields are full,\u201d said Waldrop, a former president at Churchill Downs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saturday marks one of the biggest days in horse racing: the running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. And it gave the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF) an opportunity to showcase what it believes is the future of the sport. On its blog this week, the Foundation — a think tank that seeks to improve the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":105247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14577,16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Thoroughbred Think Tank Thinks Fixed-Odds Betting Can Give Racing Fresh Blood<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n