by Michael Antoniades, Balmoral Park racing analyst

Crete, IL — The sport of harness racing will break through another major barrier Saturday night (April 4) with one of the greatest wagering opportunities ever offered.

It is the culmination of gambling vision, a reduced takeout for the players and a very popular new wager. The combination of all those things and a mandatory payout will give harness racing their entrance to gambling High Society on Saturday with a deal that nobody can match.

April kicks off with a spectacular Final Four Saturday, offering a plethora of big events to wager on. Highlighting the afternoon will be three $1 million preps for the Kentucky Derby. The Santa Anita Derby, the Wood Memorial and the Bluegrass from Keeneland on their new surface will make the Derby picture a little clearer. Some of the biggest pools of the year will be offered, but the biggest and most popular wager will not be on a million dollar Thoroughbred race in the afternoon. It will be on a C$35,000 harness race in Toronto Saturday night.

This is not opinion. It’s a fact.

I realize that for most people in racing, what I just stated makes absolutely no sense. That is completely understandable. My opinion is based on knowing that the investment opportunity that Woodbine is offering is far superior. If you look at the wagering dynamics of the Woodbine bet, I think you will agree.

Based on an estimated pool of $3 million, that means that $2,152,542 in new money will be combined with the carryover of $847,458 to reach the $3 million mark. Those numbers would easily establish this bet as the biggest harness racing pool in North American history. By reducing the takeout by more than 40 percent for the duration of the bet, Woodbine has created the rarest of bets, one that pays out more than it will take in on Saturday night.

At the levels established above, the takeout on the new money would be $332,881.30. That leaves us with a Saturday net pool of $1,819,660. Now we add the carryover of $847,458 to get a final pool of $2,667,118. In other words the Saturday winning High Five wagers of $2,152,542 will be rewarded with winnings of $2,667,118, a surplus of $514,576.

Based on a $3 million pool, for every winning dollar Woodbine is going to pay you almost $1.24.

While the three million dollar preps offer field sizes of six, seven and eight, Woodbine has assembled a 12 horse field to make the race more appealing to the masses. A 20 cent minimum assures that players of every size bankroll can participate. You can box five horses for $24 or you can key one on top of four others for the tidy sum of $4.80. Others will be spending thousands to try and hit the High Five multiple times because of the extraordinary return.

The USTA and Canada along with some forward thinking track operators have been working diligently and are listening to horseplayers to make the gambling side of the game better. They are succeeding in creating a new frontier and should take a bow Saturday for a moment in time that five years ago was unthinkable.

The deluxe program page is available courtesy of TrackMaster and the USTA Strategic Wagering Program at www.ustrotting.com.

More than 30 years ago, Niatross gave harness racing its Roger Bannister moment when he broke the 1:50 barrier in Lexington. Saturday the gambling side of the business will have their Neil Armstrong moment. It’s one small step but for one shining moment this bet will vault harness racing into the gambling mainstream for the simple reason that everyone that gambles knows what a good bet is when they see one. Let’s not waste this marvelous opportunity.