New Daily Double links New York, Santa Anita

[Kasept]

New daily double links New York, Santa Anita races
By David Grening

http://www.drf.com/news/new-daily-do...ta-anita-races

A new daily double wager linking the last race at a New York Racing Association track and a selected race at Santa Anita will debut Thursday, according to a press release issued by Santa Anita on Wednesday.

The wager, which requires a $2 minimum bet, will be called the “Belmont/Santa Anita Cross-Country Double.” The wager will be offered Thursdays through Sundays through Nov. 2, the final day of the Santa Anita meet. It will include three days of racing at Aqueduct – Oct. 29, 30, and Nov. 2 – but will not be offered on either of the two Breeders’ Cup cards – Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 – which are hosted by Santa Anita.

There is no minimum guaranteed pool for the wager, and the takeout rate will be 20 percent, the rate of a daily double wager in California.

On days when NYRA conducts a nine-race card, the wager will link to the fourth race at Santa Anita, according to a NYRA official. On days when NYRA conducts 10 or 11 races, it will link to the fifth race at Santa Anita.

Those who want to play should ask mutuel tellers for the Cross-Country Daily Double. A CCDD icon is expected to be available to online players.

“We’re excited to be able to offer this new wager in conjunction with NYRA,” Tom Ludt, president of Santa Anita Park, said in the release. “We’re confident this bet will feature large fields and offer our players good value on a consistent basis. We think this cross-country daily double will generate significant interest around the country and help create additional exposure for both of our racing programs.”

Said David O’Rourke, NYRA’s vice president of corporate development: “Our new partnership with Santa Anita and the launch of the new, cross-country double provides exciting opportunities for our horseplayers while adding additional continuity between tracks from coast to coast.”

The wager is similar to what NYRA did with Penn National last year on Thursdays with a pick four wager linking the final two races of Belmont’s card with the first two races of that Penn National card. That wager had a 50-cent minimum wager with a 15 percent takeout.