Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sixty Minute Six

Well we spoke about the 4 in 48 – a harness pick 4, offered by a track when no others are running, to capitalize on the wagering vacuum. Now, recently announced by thoroughbred racing is the Sixty Minute Six. NYRA, Delaware Park, Philly Park and Monmouth have gotten together, offered six races in an hour with a $100,000 guaranteed pool. It will be run each Saturday from June until August.

A few stumbling blocks with this; pitfalls that we would not have with the 4 in 48, are apparent to me.

One, there is too much racing on Saturday’s. We can bet pick 6’s, pick 9’s, pick 4’s, dime supers, on and on. How much money do people think we have to drop on low hit rate bets, with zippo churn? With so much competition, I think this bet might struggle.

Second, it is not too dissimilar to the Magna 5.

Third, those tracks are far apart in trainer colony and bias’s. It’s tough to feel comfortable in betting all those surfaces on a given day.

Fourth, no low rake guarantee to entice us.

Five, no 50 cent or 20 cent or fractional type differentiation. It is not a Purple Cow.

The good? Well, they are marketing the thing. It has a catchy name, new website, plus a guarantee. They are giving it a shot, anyway and you know how I feel about that in this business – I like it.

Takeout Note:

Steve Crist has been speaking about NYRA upping their takeout percentage. There are things like surcharges, out of state thingamajigs and whatever. It makes my head spin. Anyway, the bottom line is that (and no one argues this) a rake increase decreases handles. Something the powers that be think is alright I guess.

Video Notes:

Well I think I need some time off; and I need a laugh. So here are two videos that I found kind of funny. One from our pal Kenny Mayne about Big Brown, and the second is from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Triumph is an acquired taste, so beware. I don't think this was the pooch's best work, but alas since it is about horse racing I had to pop it up. For more Triumph, my fave is still the Star Wars convention. That one let's the insults fly on something a bit more away from our hearts. Unless you are packing a light sabre.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

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