Editor’s Note: The USTA website is pleased to present freelance writer Bob Carson and his popular “Outside the Box” features. This monthly series is a menu of outlandish proposals presented with a wink — but the purpose behind them is serious. The views contained in this column are that of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the United States Trotting Association.

Gamblers want a thrill, a rush of endorphins, and they are willing to pay for that thrill. Alas, the endorphin rush for a horse race is fleeting — a few moments, and it is on to the next race. We do not offer our players the opportunity to marinate in a long season with daily highs and lows followed by a huge crescendo.

Each season I follow the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, a small-market team that plays home games in a marginal stadium in front of a handful of fans. Historically, the Rays field teams of unknown, underpaid, over-achieving, scrappy players, which, for me, makes rooting for the Rays an emotional experience.

For the 2019 season, I took my emotional attachment to the Rays up a notch. In March, during spring training, before even knowing who would be on the final roster of the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays, I placed a hefty (for me) wager on the Rays to win the 2019 World Series.

As usual, the Rays were terrific. The team made the postseason and then lost in a deciding game against the mighty (and possibly tainted) Houston Astros. As usual, I lost my wager. However, what was unusual was how dramatically my wagered money amplified my attachment to the team. Money on the line focused my attention. The fortunes of the ball club increased from a casual fling to a year-long infatuation.

My wager changed the experience. Virtually every night of the season, I rooted for the Rays. In addition, and just as much fun, I had teams to root against. A loss by a division rival like the Yankees or Red Sox was almost as much fun as a win by the Rays. I will repeat this wager.

Could my “Rays” experience transfer to our sport? Could we stretch the momentary buzz of horse racing? Could we add long-term wagers to our menu of daily horse racing wagering? Could we make our wagered money last longer and create value that is more emotional? Who knows? There are occasional ventures out there in the world of horse racing based on this concept. But, allow another suggestion — Playing Pods.

Consider this very crude outline:

• 100 3-year-old horses are entered into a Pod (perhaps you can think of an improvement on the term Pod). Each of the horses won a minimum of $20,000 and a maximum of $60,000 as 2-year-olds. The Pod is basically a pool.

• The next step is to divide the original pool of 100 into 10 “Pods” of horses. The division process can be random or carefully structured.

• Names and fixed odds are given to each pod on Feb 1. For example, Pegasus Pod 2020, odds 9–1. These available Pods are listed for wagering on a gambling site.

• Horse racing gambling sites will take wagers for two weeks on the various Pods. The minimum Pod wager in this prototype is $200.

• The gambling window closes. The Pods and the odds are locked into place. The winning Pod will be determined by the total amount of purse earnings from all ten horses in each Pod as of midnight on Oct. 1, 2020.

What is the value? What is the point? I can see three.

First, this would be a good bet for gamblers. This offers a decent wager (10 percent takeout in this example). This type of wager still remains a game of skill for most players. Serious handicappers will carefully select their Pod wager. Remaining a skill wager is important legislatively.

Second, while remaining a skill wager for most, simultaneously, the Pod wager can offer a very simple gamble for non-skilled players, “Hey, I just need to select one of these nine groups for $200, and if my group wins, I will win $18,000.” For serious handicappers and recreational handicappers, this would be a good bet.

Third, and of value for both new and old, experienced or raw rookie, this is a deeper, longer, more enriching emotional experience. The Pod player will have an interest in a “Home Team” over a long season. They will have a rooting interest enhanced using their wager. Pod players will also have something a traditional horse race rarely has — “teammates and rivals.”

Instead of a fleeting wager on a horse race that is over quickly, every Pod player has the opportunity to marinate in the sport of harness horse racing. Modern technology makes it possible to keep up with your “team.” Every day your phone will ding with updates — the standings, the injuries, the possibilities. One of “your” horses is in the box tonight! The long season builds to a crescendo. All of the factors that make following a sports team could be open to our somewhat isolated sport.

A big question when considering a radical proposal along these lines is — Would I purchase a Pod to play for a season?

I would, and I believe some of my non-racing friends would as well.