by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association

Columbus, OH — Three new USTA Strategic Wagering options will be available to horseplayers in the coming days: Northfield Park will add a Wednesday Pick-4 starting on April 20, Maywood Park will offer a Thursday Pick-4 making its debut on April 21 and The Meadows will add Pick-4s on Mondays and Tuesdays, beginning May 2 and 3.

The pools at Northfield and Maywood will be guaranteed for $10,000, each, and the Meadows’ pools will be guaranteed for $5,000. The Maywood and Meadows wagers will both be on the final four races of their live race cards.

The concept of USTA Strategic Wagering grew from an idea first offered by USTA director Chris Schick of California, and calls for pari-mutuel betting pools to be guaranteed, with the responsibility for the guarantee being shared equally between the USTA and the track hosting the wager.

The program began earlier this month, and participating tracks have reported greatly increased wagering in the first weeks the program has been offered. The USTA Strategic Wagering committee continues to work on adding more wagers in 2011, including a national bet featuring races at multiple tracks throughout the country.

For the latest schedule of wagers in the program, visit the USTA’s handicapping page. On the handicapping page you can find a list of participating wagers, expert selections and links to free past performances, provided courtesy of TrackMaster.

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