"Little" Balmoral Shows Them How It's Done

Press Release: Balmoral Park handle up over $10,000,000 in 2012

             Chicago, Illinois    April 12, 2012    By Michael Antoniades, Balmoral Park Racing Analyst

          Balmoral Park reported strong first quarter growth in 2012 showing an increase of 35 percent in handle versus the first quarter of 2011. Total Q1 handle of $41,926,837 for 38 programs in 2012 was an increase of $10,879,738 compared to the 2011 Q1 handle of $31,047,099 on 37 programs.

          The nightly average at Balmoral rose to $1,103,337, an increase of $264,227 per night versus Q1 of 2011. Going back to the successful model of the 70’s and 80’s ,two of the three weekly cards went with only ten races resulting in a total of 423 races on 38 nights. The theory of less races to handicap and more free time for the players paid handsome dividends as the average handle per race in 2012 Q1 rose to $99,117, up $22,835 per race from Q1 of 2011. 

          Another key component was the low percentage of winning favorites. Balmoral offered some of the most competitive racing in North America . The evidence to this statement is overwhelming considering this fact. The Balmoral Park average of 33 per cent winning favorites is not only the lowest in harness racing, it equals thoroughbred racetracks Oaklawn Park and Parx for the lowest in all of racing for the first quarter of 2012. 

       The fact that the three major thoroughbred venues this winter all sported higher percentages of winning favorites is a big reason why Balmoral Park has been able to get thoroughbred players interested in harness racing. Through March 31, the Big 3 averages were Gulfstream and Santa Anita at 35 per cent and Aqueduct at 40 per cent. 

      Competitive racing resulted in some of the biggest payouts in racing. A Pick 5 record fifty cent payout was established on February 1 when one winner took home $32,400.00.  The record payout was topped three weeks later on February 22, when three lucky Pick 5 winners each received $44,675.10 on their 50 cent winning ticket. The largest Pick 4 payout was eleven days earlier when a one dollar winning ticket took home $22.958.80. At Balmoral a player could do some damage with a dime as well. The Original 10 cent High 5 paid $13,599.00 on January 14 and $10,609.50 on April 4.

     Low takeout, guaranteed pools and low minimums allowed players to last longer and gave them a better chance to win big. A three horse fifty cent trifecta box for $3.00 or a four horse dime super box for $2.40 was a sure way to get newcomers to the winners circle more often and make the pools much larger which made the gambling product more attractive to bigger players.

     The Pick 4 wager at Balmoral continues to be an amazing story. In the words of one of our biggest players, “This should be taught at every business school in the country to show students what is possible”. Thanks to the USTA Strategic Wagering Initiative, Track Master for the deluxe free program pages combined with a low takeout of 15%, the Balmoral Pick 4  has become one of the most popular bets in North America.  In 2009, the Pick 4 averaged $8,827 per night with a 25% takeout. 27 months later in the first quarter of 2012 the average pool rose to $32,143 with guaranteed pools and free program pages every night along with a 40% reduction in takeout. $524,114 was wagered on thirteen March Pick Fours for a record monthly average of $40,316.

                                          ANATOMY OF A BET

         BALMORAL PARK PICK 4 HISTORY    2009 TO THE PRESENT

	2009	2010	2011	2012
	25% Takeout	15% Takeout	15% Takeout	15% Takeout
JAN	$8,524	$7,698	$15,163	$28,675
FEB	8,587	10,277	17,490	27,046
MAR	9,739	10,923	15,629	40,316
APR	7,750	11,021	26,584
MAY	7,907	14,897	24,773
JUN	9,425	14,109	24,708
JUL	7,689	16,357	26,191
AUG	8,160	12,570	23,658
SEP	11,672	22,467	30,411
OCT	7,432	15,670	28,016
NOV	9,641	15,703	25,804
DEC	10,349	12,584	23,519
2009			25% takeout
2010			15% takeout
2011 thru March             15% takeout
2011 April thru 6-26       15% takeout and guarantees on Saturday and Sunday
2011 after 6-29		15% takeout and guarantees nightly.    Guarantees raised  $ 5,000