As part of an aggressive customer-friendly overhaul of Arlington Park’s
wagering format for the upcoming 2011 racing season, the track plans to lower
the minimum wager on the Pick 4 and Pick 5 to 50 cents and at the same time
lower the takeout rate on the Pick 5 and High 5 to 15 percent.
The Pick 5 wager requires a bettor to correctly select the winner in the
final five races of the day. In the event there is no ticket sold which
designates the five official winners of the Pick 5 races, 10 percent of the net
pool will be distributed to the holders of the tickets that correctly pick the
most races correctly, and 90 percent of the net Pick 5 pool will be carried over
to the next day.
Even when someone correctly picks the official winner in all five races, 10
percent of that day’s net Pick 5 pool will be distributed to the holders of the
tickets that correctly picks four winners correctly and 90 percent of that day’s
net Pick 5 pool, plus 100 percent of the carryover (if any), will be distributed
to the holders of the tickets that correctly picked all five winners.
The 90-10 split between the major pool (winner or carryover) and the minor
pool (those with next highest number of winners) will be in effect for all
“Pick” wagers that involve carryover pools — the Pick 4, 5, 6 and Place Pick 9.
“By reducing the minimum bet to 50 cents and dropping the takeout rate to 15
percent, the Pick 5 carryover pool should grow more rapidly to ensure the
possibility of large carryover pools resulting in potentially huge payoffs,”
Arlington Park General Manager Tony Petrillo said. “Customers have been
responsive to wagers with minimums under $1 and we are glad to be able to offer
our Pick 4 bettors that option as well.”
Arlington will continue to offer two Pick 4 wagers daily with the Early Pick
4 covering races 2-5 and the Late Pick 4 encompassing the final four races on
the card. In the event that no bettor correctly selects all four official
winners in either Pick 4 sequence, there will be a carryover to the next racing
day’s corresponding Pick 4 pool (early-to-early; late-to-late).
In addition to lowering the cost of the Pick 4 and Pick 5 wagers, other
customer-friendly moves include dropping the minimum wager on the last race High
5 to 10 cents as well as lowering its takeout rate to 15 percent, and bringing
back the Quinella wager on every race every Sunday during the season. The
Quinella, a $2 wager, requires a bettor to correctly select the first two
finishers in a race, regardless of order.
“The Quinella has been a popular wager among new or novice bettors,” Petrillo
explained. “With Arlington’s focus on families on Sundays, we thought offering
this wager would encourage newcomers to dip into exotic pools in addition to
betting the standard win-place-show wagers they tend to play.”
In addition, Arlington will offer a $1 Pick 6 generally covering the day’s
final six races; rolling $1 Pick 3 wagers; and rolling $2 Daily Double wagers
(with a $1 wheel option) as well as the $1 Place Pick 9 covering the day’s first
nine races.
The track will also offer the standard single-race wagers — $2 win, place
and show bets on every race; a $2 Exacta (with $1 boxes and wheels available) on
each race; a 50-cent Trifecta on all races eligible under Illinois Racing Board
rules; and a 10-cent Superfecta on all races eligible under Illinois Racing
Board rules.
In a new twist to win, place, and show wagering, on a selected race on
selected days on-track only Arlington Park will offer guests an opportunity to
play a $12 Last Call — which consists of a $2 win, $4 place and $6 show wager
on the same horse on the same ticket. The concept behind the Last Call is based
on the ‘ladder’ principle of stacking a wager to maximize the chances of making
a profit.
In many cases when the horse finishes third, the $6 show portion of the wager
will cover the cost of the bet (as long as the horse returns $4 to show). If the
horse finishes second, the bettor is likely to make a small profit and should
the horse win, the bettor collects on all three parts of the wager.
While a fan can wager in this format on any race at any time, the Last Call
offers a special twist in that losing Last Call tickets (which will be available
when wagering with a roving mutuel clerk either in the Park area, on the Apron
or in the Million Room and be printed on special paper) can be redeemed for a
free beer or other beverage.
“The Last Call concept, besides being a good wagering strategy, adds an extra
twist of fun to the traditional win, place and show wagers,” Petrillo said.
“Even if a bettor’s horse doesn’t finish in the top three, he or she will still
be a winner by getting a free drink.”