by Michael Antoniades, Balmoral Park racing analyst

Crete, IL — Balmoral Park will once again offer big betting opportunities for players with two guaranteed pools on Wednesday (Oct. 3).

A one day Pick-5 carryover of $8,640 will kick off the action. The popular 50 cent Pick-5 wager is offered on races two through six. The USTA and Balmoral Park have created a $30,000 instant guaranteed pool on the Pick-5. Post time for the second race is 7:30 p.m. (CDT).

Through Sept. 30, the average wagered on 116 Pick-5 pools at Balmoral Park is $16,982 per night. The average 50 cent payout is $2,541,37. This year, 43 of 116 of the 50 cent payouts have exceeded $1,000.

Balmoral will also offer a $20,000 guaranteed Pick-4 pool on races seven through 10 Wednesday, immediately following the conclusion of the Pick-5. The Pick-4 has a $1 minimum.

Balmoral offers a guaranteed Pick-4 wager every night with free program pages and a 15 percent takeout.

Through Sept. 30, the average $1 payout is $2,424.41. The average Pick-4 pool in 2012 is $32,113. This year 45 of 116 of the $1 payouts are over $1,000.

Balmoral Park comes off a great September which saw handle grow to $14,587,788 for 14 programs. The average nightly handle in September was $1,034,482.

This number is significant when you consider that excluding the Little Brown Jug week at Delaware, only nine harness programs in the country handled over a million dollars on a racing program in the month of September. All nine of the programs that handled over $1 million in the United States were at Balmoral Park.

For the first nine months of 2012, Balmoral Park has a nightly average handle of $1,037,643. The average race in 2012 has increased in handle to $92,448 per race.

Handicappers across North America can get a head start on their competition with free 12 line program pages for the guaranteed pools immediately courtesy of the USTA and TrackMaster on the handicapping section at www.ustrotting.com.