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Good news, folks! Assiniboia
Downs has announced it will be putting more money into your pockets
starting Nov. 19. The track is
rolling back its take-out at 13 tracks on various bets--from triactors
to pick-6s. Now all you have to
do is to bet smartly to take advantage of the bigger money
available! See the full range
of tracks and bets below.
Planning to enter the horseplayer tournament in 10
days--Saturday, Nov. 24? There's
extra fun and a bonus $100 awaiting you if you come to my
pre-tournament seminar at 11 a.m. that day and submit three best picks
that are better than everyone else's picks that afternoon. Details below.
Also, thanks for your feedback to my last column: What's
on your mind? A few of your responses follow. Keep 'em coming! Email me at theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com. And thanks for submitting your
predictions on when you think Florida
will common-pool with Canada. I'll give you the range of
predictions in the next column.
Charge!
GOOD NEWS FOR BETTORS:
Bigger return on
bets!
Downs' general manager Sharon Gulyas
has announced that starting Monday, Nov. 19, the non-profit Manitoba
Jockey Club will be in a position to roll back its take-out on major bets
at simulcast tracks, allowing players to pocket more money. "If
handle increases as a result of this lower take-out," Gulyas
said, "we'll be able to
offer an even greater return down the road."
The rollback affects triactors, superfectas, pick-3's and
4's and pick-6 bets at 13 tracks. The pick-6 at New
York tracks and Hawthorne
will now be the same as the U.S.
payout. The pick-4 payout at
Woodbine will be the same as Woodbine's.
Players can also expect:
• Higher pick-6 returns at Hollywood,
Santa Anita,
Del
Mar and Churchill
• Higher pick-4 returns at Churchill, Laurel,
Meadowlands, Monmouth and Pimlico
• Higher pick-3 returns at Churchill,
Laurel and Pimlico
• Higher superfecta returns at Churchill,
Meadowlands and Pimlico
• Higher triactor returns at Churchill and Pimlico
"I
hope people will see this as a positive," Gulyas
said. "We're trying to do the best we can. This is phase one. You have to start somewhere." Because of special discounted bets at
some U.S.
tracks, the differential had been as high as 15 per cent but now,
Gulyas pointed out, the differential has been reduced to single digits
or entirely eliminated. The
mandate of the Manitoba Jockey Club is to preserve and promote the
local racing industry, an impossibility without sufficient VLT and live
and simulcast revenue.
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Trivia
Teaser: Did horse #2 win? (Answer at end of column)
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FYI: What you missed last Saturday
Are the bi-weekly Saturday horseplayer seminars in the
Finish Line at the track worth attending? You decide. Here were last Saturday's spot plays
suggested by Downs clocker Everett Shade and me:
•
Calder. Race 1. Speed/trainer angle picks exactor: I suggested #6 Euro Silver Jet because of outstanding early
speed, Everett pointed out the huge trainer
angle on #7 Two
Double. Finished one-two. Exactor paid $29. Triactor more
than $300. (Paid $498 at Calder.)
•
Woodbine. Race 2. Cut back on Poly works: I pointed out a horse cutting back
to a sprint after showing speed at a mile, one of the best
angles on Polytrack (#7 Warrior Belle).
Finished second, paying $8.30 to place.
An exactor with the favourite on top: $30.50.
•
Woodbine. Race 3. Dropper pays: Everett
pointed out a sneaky dropping horse (#6 Bluenoser). Won.
Paid $7.80.
• Golden Gate. Race 10. Giant pace number works: My specialty maiden race
in which a horse with a giant pace number (#2 Dancinocidental) was running in
a 5f dash. Won. Paid $10.80.
Our
losing horses: Nobody is perfect
(surprise!) Everett
touted a Calder horse that didn't perform well, I liked Churchill and
Aqueduct horses with lots of speed.
Both finished third. A
longshot speed horse at Golden
Gate couldn't get the lead.
Overall: If you had simply bet $2 win/place on
the eight horses, your cost would have been $32 and you would have
collected $56.80, a 77 per cent return on your bets. And that's not considering exactors
or triactors. Worth it? Hmm.
PRE-TOURNEY SEMINAR:
Get $100 for your
best picks
My next seminar will be a pre-tournament one at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, in the Finish
Line. If you're a contestant in
the Players' Choice Horseplayer Tournament that begins at noon that day, that will be your chance to
pick up an extra $100 in betting vouchers. You will be given an entry form to
submit your three best bets
for that afternoon. If your
three picks outperform the picks of other entrants (i.e. they pay more
money), you will win $50 in betting vouchers which you will receive at
an awards ceremony after the tournament ends. IN ADDITION:
If your picks also outperform the three picks I or my partner, Everett Shade point out at the
seminar, you get an additional $50 in betting vouchers. Plus, obviously, huge bragging
rights. Free coffee and pastry
at the seminar. Everyone is
invited, whether they've entered the tournament or not--but the special
$100 bonus offer is only available to tournament players.
How to enter the Player's Choice Horseplayer Tourney? Entry forms are available at the
track and at OTB locations.
Entry deadline is Friday, Nov. 23 at 9 p.m.
Entry fee is $25. Top
tournament prize is $500 cash.
FEEDBACK: Readers tell me what's on their minds
Ivan: Keep
doing exactly what you're doing. It's been tremendous and the results
are there. Just wanted you to know you're appreciated. -- Paul Wiecek,
Winnipeg
Free Press
Ivan: Love Australian racing! It's a ton more fun than many other tracks
being shown and I can't say enough good things about it. I also like
that it's a bit later and gives you time to get home from work and get
the kids to bed. I was really happy the Downs made the Melbourne
cup a bigger deal this year as well. It should be promoted just as much
as any of the big North American races (okay, except maybe Breeders'
Cup). I started playing Australia
last year and must admit didn't pay enough attention to your betting
notes. I revisited it this year after getting sick of the new Poly at
Santa Anita and disgusted by the lack of any pattern with Mountaineer.
I read through your notes again and paid attention. I can say
honestly that I can make a winning bet in almost all Australian races.
-- Jeffery McInnes
FREE BETTING MONEY: Weekend contest winners
POKER
POWERHOUSE: Rick
Palas overwhelmed nine rivals in Friday night's regular Texas hold 'em
match in the Clubhouse to pick up $100 in betting vouchers.
SHOW
PARLAY SHOW-OFF: Glen
Miller, a skillful pick-6 player, also showed his show-playing
mettle on Friday, turning his imaginary $10 into $44.80 in races 3 to 5
at Remington. He received $25 in
betting vouchers. NOTE: Carryover!
Carryover! Since no one won last Saturday's show
parlay, tomorrow's (Friday's) prize is $50! So enter free "show parlay
challenge" on the "almost-live" fun card from Remington Park in Oklahoma. Post time: 6:30
p.m.
HORSEPLAY TIP OF THE WEEK:
Play Tapeta like
dirt The
new synthetic surface at Golden Gate Fields called Tapeta (pronounced
ta-pee-ta) is playing as close to dirt as a synthetic surface can
be. For the most part, speed
holds just as it does at most dirt tracks so horses can be analyzed as
they always have been at the track.
Hooray for that.
IRISH EYES WILL BE SMILING (and so will tummies)
at tonight's Taste
the World all-you-can-eat Irish feast in the Clubhouse from 5 to 8
p.m. If you love comfort food, this is
it! Guinness stew, shepard's
pie, braised corned beef and cabbage and so much
more.
$14.95. Next Thursday's theme cuisine:
French. Dec. 6: Taste-teasing Mongolian BBQ. Menu.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Popular "Pigskin 'n' Ponies" returns  Watch
the Grey Cup in the Race Book at the Downs Sunday, Nov.
25 and have a chance to win betting vouchers each time a team
scores! Vouchers valued at $2 to
$5 will be awarded for each score-change and $600 will be up for grabs
for correct score-holders at each quarter and at the end of the game. How can you get into the game? In the Pigskin contest, it's
first-come, first-served. The
first 100 to sign up at the Race Book kiosk will automatically receive
a score. In the Ponies contest, players can "purchase"
squares with points earned by correctly predicting horses finishing in
the top three at Woodbine races 3 to 8.
COMING SOON: Stunning news on ways the Downs will
celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Expect a biggie!
Answer to Trivia Teaser picture: Did the horse at the wire win?
No. The jockey's weight must be on the horse until the horse crosses
the finish line. The picture, as local player Johnny the Greek
sorefully recalls because it cost him winning the pick-4 that
day--shows Lido the horse making an abrupt sidestep at the
wire at Santa Anita October 6, 2000, catapulting Kent Desormeaux,
still holding the reins, across the wire ahead of him.
Go Bombers! Go Bisons!
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