by Michael Antoniades, Balmoral Park racing analyst

Crete, IL — If the first week of December is any indication, Balmoral Park will cap off a stellar 2012 season with sizable gains in business.

Handle for the opening weekend of December was robust. The Saturday (Dec. 1) handle of $1,380,892 was $128,107 higher than 2011 and the Sunday (Dec. 2) program handled $1,135,362 versus $954,770 last year, an increase of $180,592. The combined two day weekend handle of $2,516,254 for 24 races was an average of $104,843 per race.

Balmoral payouts and pool sizes are a big reason for that success. Several win pools surpassed $22,000 and the exotic pools were large enough for people to play big numbers. Exacta pools averaged $24,727 and trifecta pools averaged $29,313. The ten cent wagers were extremely popular this weekend as well. Ten cent superfecta pools averaged $21,926 and the ten cent High Five pool averaged $22,446. The average High Five payout in 2012 is $1,018 for a dime.

Multi race pools continue to attract big players to the big track. The average Pick-5 pool in 2012 is $17,267. The Balmoral Pick-5 is a 50 cent minimum wager which allows the player more coverage. The average 50 cent payout this year is $2,517.

The Pick-4 continues to do record business thanks to the USTA Strategic Wagering Program, free program pages courtesy of TrackMaster and a low 15 percent takeout. More than $4,500,000 has been wagered on 143 Pick-4s in 2012, an average nightly pool of $31,694. The average one dollar payout this year is $2,376.35.

Free program pages are available every night at www.ustrotting.com. My complimentary selections and racing news are available at www.oddsonracing.com. Michael’s plays have been on a roll as we go into the Wednesday (Dec. 5) card off six consecutive winning days at Balmoral. Our last losing day was on Nov. 18.

During that six day winning streak, I have been fortunate enough to select 21 winners out of 69 selections, with only five of those winners going off as the favorite. Those 21 winners returned $221.80 on a $2 win bet minus the investment of $138 for 69 races, a net profit of $83.80 and an ROI of more than 60 percent. My average winner returned $10.56. As all gamblers know, streaks with 60 percent ROI don’t last but we certainly will make the most of it while they do.