HorseWorldData
Article
Shopping for a Wager
If you're a racing fan, at some time or another you've probably had an experience like this. You're with a couple at the track. The husband, Jim, has his face in the Racing Form and his wife, Sue, is looking over the program and admiring the surroundings. You turn to Jim and playfully ask him why he's so quiet. He, in turn, gives Sue a devilish look and replies "I'm shopping". You all have a good laugh. And, being wise beyond your years, you say no more.
But, to yourself, you think that he's a handicapper, not a shopper. And that the two terms rarely describe the same person. You know Sue to be a good shopper and you're fairly sure she wouldn't limit here shopping for a valuable item to one store only. Jim, on the other hand, almost always shops for wagers at the track that he's physically attending, shunning the simulcasts on the TV monitor around the facility. Sure, he tries to find the best value within the confines of that track's races. But he's like a person who'd look for the best shirt Sears has to offer without considering other stores.
Jim, like most handicappers, stores scads of worthwhile facts and figures in his cranium. He'll protest if his car insurance premium goes up. He'll bemoan a rise in gas prices. And he'll bellyache when his property taxes or FICA taxes increase. But ask him what tracks have the least takeout and chances are you'll get a sarcastically non-interested response. He doesn't see takeout as an absolute figure. He sees it as a relative discrepancy he can overcome with competent handicapping.
Takeout, of course, is the amount removed from each pari-mutuel wagering pool before the payoffs to the public on a given wager are returned. The difference in takeout between tracks can be as much as 5% and sometimes more.
To illustrate takeout's importance, let's suppose you bet into a pool that has $1000 total. Track A deducts 20% of the pool as takeout and Track B deducts 25%, leaving $800 and $750 respectively in the pools. Now suppose winning bettors invested $200 into each of the pools. The winners would then split the remains of the losing bettors' wagers after takeout or $600 (3 to 1) at track A and $550 (2.75 to 1) at track B. You can see that takeout makes a difference for a even common betting scenario such as this.
Then suppose, even further, that your $2 ticket was the only winner, in a $1000 pool. Maybe you hit a superfecta (though you'll probably not find a superfecta pool with only a 20% takeout - but the 5% difference is what we're illustrating here). Track A still has $800 in the pool after takeout and Track B $750. Your winnings are $798 (399 to 1) at track A and $748 (349 to1) at track B. Does it make you think more about considering takeout when betting?
Smaller differences in takeout still have an effect on bettors' pockets. The Maryland Jockey Club recently increased takeout at Laurel and Pimilco from 17% to 18% on win, place and show bets; from 19% to 21% on exactas and daily doubles; and from 25% to 25.5% on trifectas and superfectas. According to an article by Tom Keyser in the Baltimore Sun, "Yesterday's $10 win ticket returns $9.60 today. Yesterday's $50 exacta ticket returns $48.80 today. And yesterday's $200 trifecta ticket returns $198 today."
Of course, handicappers have legitimate reasons such as local knowledge for sticking solely to chosen venues. But the world of horse racing is shrinking. Today's simulcast is tomorrow's home wager over the Internet. And people are generally becoming better shoppers. Have you tried buying airlines tickets through e-Bay.com? Chances are you will in the future.
Some venues, such as Gulfstream Park, see the writing on the wall. Under Wagering information, Gulfstream's web site advertises that "Gulfstream Park offers the most favorable take-out percentages in the state!"
As for us, HorseWorldData.com (HWD) is doing our part to inform the racing public about takeouts in effect throughout the U. S. You'll find this information on our Pari-Mutuel Tracks page.
Once you've gotten used to the buying cheap airline tickets on the Internet, you may have occasion to visit other countries and attend the races. Or maybe you surf to international sites to check out wagering. We've found international takeout information hard to come by. But there is a source of information (INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HORSERACING AUTHORITIES) on what percentage of the amount wagered in countries around the world that is returned to bettors in the form of winning bets. You'll find this information on our International Racing page.
As for the offshore bookmakers, we're not sure. We believe those who have moved offshore have rates of returns to bettors approximately the bookmakers in the country they left. These rates are generally contained in the information.
It's not hard to predict that, spurred by technology, in the future many handicappers will see the light and become shoppers who will pay homage to takeout. Whoa to the Maryland Jockey Clubs of the world when they do!
HorseWorldData.com will continue our research on this topic and if you have any information you'd like to add please e-mail us at Horsedata@aol.com.
Boots Fox
President - HorseWorldData.com