by Michael Antoniades, Balmoral Park racing analyst

Crete, IL — On Saturday night (April 4), the gambling industry witnessed the perfect storm. Woodbine offered a one race wager that captivated the gambling world. A combination of huge carryover, takeout reduced by more than 40 percent to create the huge carryover, a 20 cent minimum and a mandatory payout gave the players a large advantage statistically, resulting in a wager that paid out significantly more money than it took in.

The incredible value of the High Five would bring sports bettors, Thoroughbred bettors, poker players and gamblers from around the world to invest in the greatest of wagering opportunities, resulting in a Woodbine High Five pool that would break all North American records.

The Saturday High Five wagers totaled a record $2,581,505. The carryover of $847,458 brought the total pool to $3,428,963, another North American record for harness racing. After the takeout of $387,225, the net pool was $3,041,738 creating a surplus to the winners of $460,232, a fact that was not lost on those investors that knew their mathematics.

The High Five was raced and the result was the second most logical of all from a statistical point of view. The 4-5 favorite Camaes Fellow was victorious followed by the 4-1 second favorite, the 7-1 third favorite, the 12-1 fifth favorite and the 11-1 fourth favorite. This fairly predictable finish resulted in 3,522 20 cent winners. When the results were posted, even the most optimistic players in the game could not believe the payoff they were seeing.

The payout was incredibly generous. We will make things easier by converting all race 11 wagers to a one dollar payout. The exacta paid $7.59, the trifecta paid $36.10 and the super paid $211.90. The High Five paid $4,317.55 for a buck. In other words, the High Five paid more than twenty times the superfecta by simply adding the next favorite in the betting. The 20 cent price was $863.51.

This unbelievable payout rewarded the players handsomely for successfully putting a winning ticket together on a bet that was from a pure numerical standpoint one of the greatest wagering opportunities ever offered.

Thank you to all horseplayers for your huge support of low takeout wagers, making more of them possible.

Handle for the 11-race card was a season high $4,696,209. It was extremely encouraging to see the tracks that were still racing, The Meadowlands, Balmoral and Cal Expo, showing the Woodbine High Five race on their signal, highlighting the most important race of the night. This is the type of cooperation that I hope we will see later this year for the North America Cup, the Meadowlands Pace, the International Trot, the Breeders Crown and others.

Congratulations to Woodbine for an extraordinary job. Best wishes to Mohawk as they open up their expanded meeting with a ten race card on Thursday.