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Saturday, October 5, 2013

HANA PLAYER ADVISORY - Non Carryover Sunday Pick6 Pools at Santa Anita

This write up covers a special situation in the Pick6 pools at Santa Anita this meet on non-carryover Sundays.

The information below can impact your bankroll in a good way. (Special thanks to horseplayer and HANA member Andy Asaro for pointing it out to us.)

For those of you who might not be aware, Santa Anita and the TOC are jointly seeding Pick6 pools with $50k in bonus money on non-carryover Sundays this meet. To read their press release click here.

In the Pick6 at Santa Anita this past Sunday Sept 29, 2013 there was no carryover from the previous race day and $50k in seed or bonus money was added to the Pick6 pool.

What does $50k in seed money mean for you the player?

One word: VALUE.

Seeding Pick6 pools with bonus money is similar to a carryover in that the effective takeout for today's pool is reduced because of the added money.

However, I contend that seeding a pick6 pool with bonus money might actually be more favorable for the player than a carryover because horseplayers universally understand (and many focus on) Pick6 carryovers. Also, tracks and websites related to horse race betting tend to publicize large Pick6 carryovers. As a result, competition among players for that elusive Pick6 score is often toughest on large carryover days. That may not be the case when a lesser amount of seed or bonus money is added to a Pick6 pool.

Last Sunday at Santa Anita, the $50k in seed or bonus money resulted in a negative net effective takeout situation. (Players collected more money than was actually bet into the pool.)

The following chart illustrates the math:

 PICK6   TAKEOUT  TAKEOUT     SEED   PAID TO  EFFECTIVE 
 HANDLE     RATE  DOLLARS  DOLLARS   BETTORS  TAKEOUT
-----------------------------------------------------
200,684   23.68%   47,522   50,000   203,162  -1.235%


The following chart illustrates net effective takeout rate for the player at different handle levels given $50k in seed or bonus money:

 PICK6   TAKEOUT  TAKEOUT     SEED   PAID TO  EFFECTIVE
 HANDLE     RATE  DOLLARS  DOLLARS   BETTORS  TAKEOUT
-----------------------------------------------------
150,000   23.68%   35,520   50,000   164,480  -9.653%
200,000   23.68%   47,360   50,000   202,640  -1.320%
250,000   23.68%   59,200   50,000   240,800   3.680%
300,000   23.68%   71,040   50,000   278,960   7.013%
350,000   23.68%   82,880   50,000   317,120   9.394%
400,000   23.68%   94,720   50,000   355,280  11.180%

 
We at HANA think this special situation represents excellent value for the player and thought you might want to know about it.

Our only question is:

Why isn't Santa Anita promoting this more aggressively?

Jeff Platt
President, HANA





3 comments:

Unknown said...

Why would NANA want SA to promote the seeded pool more aggressively? Wouldn't that increase the handle and therefore increase the effective takeout which would mean less payout to horseplayers? C.C. Rogers of Creating Capital

Precocity said...

It's a shame that Santa Anita and Del Mar will commit to player friendly takeout schemes in pick 5 and pick 6 pools, while continuing to impose their absurd takeout scheme in the exotic pools (especially doubles and exactas).

The average player, as usual, is left to wither on the vine as high takeout erodes his bankroll. To add insult to injury, the high-end players often receive substantial takeout reductions through rebate shops.

The most equitable and sensible solution is low takeout for everybody. Many of my cohorts, who play poker and bet sports, scoff at the idea of wagering on the ponies because of the ridiculous 15-31% takeout. Personally, I still boycott California racing because I mainly play doubles and exactas. It seems as though HANA is silent on the issue of rebates and could do a better job educating and advocating for average players. I greatly appreciate your site and advocacy, but wanted to share my sentiment on 'fair takeout for everybody.'

Anonymous said...

Note: Please delete my comment if I inadvertently posted it twice.

It's a shame that Santa Anita and Del Mar will commit to player friendly takeout schemes in pick 5 and pick 6 pools, while continuing to impose their absurd takeout scheme in the exotic pools (especially doubles and exactas).

The average player, as usual, is left to wither on the vine as high takeout erodes his bankroll. To add insult to injury, the high-end players often receive substantial takeout reductions through rebate shops.

The most equitable and sensible solution is low takeout for everybody. Many of my cohorts, who play poker and bet sports, scoff at the idea of wagering on the ponies because of the ridiculous 15-31% takeout. Personally, I still boycott California racing because I mainly play doubles and exactas. It seems as though HANA is silent on the issue of rebates and could do a better job educating and advocating for average players. I greatly appreciate your site and advocacy, but wanted to share my sentiment on 'fair takeout for everybody.'