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Old 05-22-2008, 05:18 PM
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Dunbar Dunbar is offline
The Curragh
 
Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kasept
You can be assured that the 20% of players responsible for 80% of the handle in all of the game understand takeout.
I would have agreed with you if not for the Ellis Park experiment of last summer. A 4% Pick 4 takeout attracted just an extra $25-50K/day of action across an entire country of horse bettors. Woo Hoo. I have to assume that either (1) most bettors could not care less about takeout, or (2) [I'm still trying to think of another good explanation].

The explanations I've heard just don't cut it. "it would have been different if a 1st rate track had done it." Yeah, maybe, but it still should have been a pretty powerful incentive to bet Ellis. And did the handle at NYRA tracks jump significantly while they had the 14% WPS takeout? I don't know the answer to that, but I'm guessing "no".

I don't think people who would shun a 4% takeout in favor of a 25% takeout on the same kind of bet really do "understand takeout".

--Dunbar
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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