Betting

The upcoming Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, to be held June 3-5, will include a selection of six two-day special wagers, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Saturday. Headlined by the GI Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 5, the three-day festival will include 17 stakes races, with eight Grade I contests on Belmont Day. The two-day Pick 6 begins Friday, June 4, with the GIII True North S. and concludes with the Saturday, June 5 Belmont S. It will feature 15% takeout and a $0.20 base...

Owner James 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale, who earlier this week announced that he would be making a bet in excess of $2-million as a hedge against a promotion in which customers of his Gallery Furniture chain will be refunded in the event that favored Essential Quality (Tapit) prevails, has confirmed that the bet will be placed on site at Churchill Downs in order to maximize the money that goes to purses. McIngvale has bet through casinos on similar promotions on the World Series and Super Bowl, where he is able to...

This is Part 1 of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation's (TIF) series "Wagering Insecurity." Faced with remarkable competitive pressure from the rise of legal sports betting, horse racing is at a crossroads. Confidence amongst horseplayers and horse owners is essential to the future sustainability of the sport. Efforts to improve the greater North American Thoroughbred industry will fall flat if its stakeholders fail to secure a foundation of integrity. Achieving this is growing increasingly difficult after the sport has neglected its core base--horseplayers--for decades. "Wagering Insecurity" details some of that neglect,...

Two North Carolina senators filed a bill Apr. 6 that would create a racing commission to promote and regulate a built-from-scratch Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry in a state where pari-mutuel wagering is currently not legal. Despite that seemingly large hurdle, Senators Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth) and Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) for the most part sidestepped the controversial issue of horse betting in Senate Bill 629, which is titled "The North Carolina Derby Act." The only gambling-related reference within the bill comes under the definition for the proposed "North Carolina Racing Office,"...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At the very bottom on the left-hand side of the daily recap sheet you can find the answer to why the New York Racing Association opted to run at Saratoga this fan-free summer instead of staying downstate and operating at Belmont Park: All Sources Handle. Though they were acutely aware that New York State's COVID-19 protocols prevented spectators from attending professional sporting events, NYRA officials projected that handle on Saratoga racing would be stronger than on 40 days at Belmont. The early returns are showing they...

by Thoroughbred Idea Foundation BettorIQ's recent podcast, "A Sports Betting Education," featured professional bettor Rob Pizzola, who was asked what might motivate him to model or wager on a new sport. "First and foremost, what does the market looks like?...Ultimately, that's the first thing. The second is what data is available. Is it public data? Is it private? Do I have to purchase it? is it reliable? You want to talk about emotions in sports betting, the instability you have to deal with, with some of the data I have...

With racing's temporary opportunity as the only game in town, the TDN's Katie Ritz took a poll of some industry insiders known to like a good bet and asked them: what is one simple way that tracks could make betting more friendly for existing horseplayers and/or more effective at bringing in new players? As you'll see, none of them could stop at just one. Making betting more friendly, especially for novices, requires a new concept. I propose teaching the gamble at the core of Thoroughbred racing, grounded in wagering, and...

With racing's temporary opportunity as the only game in town, the TDN's Katie Ritz took a poll of some industry insiders known to like a good bet and asked them: what is one simple way that tracks could make betting more friendly for existing horseplayers and/or more effective at bringing in new players? As you'll see, none of them could stop at just one. LUCAS MARQUARDT, Thorostride I worry we sometimes miss the forest for the trees in this industry. I am on board with free data and lower takeout--racing's...

I am writing in response to the Open Letter to the Industry by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TDN, April 18) : This has been a challenging time for horse racing and the country as a whole. As sports shut down last month, Equibase examined what it could do to help support efforts to promote horse racing. With expanded television coverage on FOX Sports and NBC Sports, potential new fans are being exposed to horse racing in unprecedented ways. We have been working with NYRA to provide free past performance products...

Edited Press Release The Stronach Group introduced a new consumer facing brand: 1/ST (pronounced "First"). 1/ST represents the company's continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. It is the engine that advocates for and drives the 1/ST Horse Care mission while powering the company's forward-thinking 1/ST Racing, 1/ST Technology, 1/ST Live and 1/ST Properties businesses. This weekend, the company's Pegasus World Cup Series will introduce the 1/ST brand with medication-free racing at the highest level. 1/ST Horse Care is donating 2% of the total $4-million...

The New York Racing Association's 2019 all-sources handle was $2,108,126,369. Also, for the first time in history, the Saratoga meet generated more than $700 million in all-sources handle at $705,343,949. Inclement weather forced the full cancellation of seven race days and partial cancellation of six cards during the year. As a result, there were 217 race days in 2019 at NYRA tracks with average daily handle of $9,714,868 compared to 2018 when 219 days of racing resulted in a daily average of $9,650,267. The 2019 season featured 2,000 races at...

Lessons Learned from Australia Racing Prove when a Gambling Pie Grows, It Can Benefit Everyone Back in 2008, Australia began opening up their betting markets. In particular, corporate bookmakers and exchanges were allowed to flourish, offering racing and sports betting customers myriad choice. As we've often noticed in horse racing when presented with something new, in 2010, the sport down under was in full protection mode. They fought the changes in court, predicting "the total destruction of the racing industry as we know it," and "all 50,000 participants in the...