Horse and Pony Show

April means it’s nearly Kentucky Derby Time.
This week there’s the Illinois Derby, Oaklawn Handicap, Apple Blossom Handicap, Keeneland Stakes, and the Santa Anita Derby all in one day.

Oh hold me back I’m drooling.

So my dad plays the Chicago tracks. I don’t know why since he lives so dang close to Oaklawn Park. But he knows the Chicago tracks - all he does is watch them on TV and follow his racing form.

And come to find out he’s placing bets on the ponies. I couldn’t figure out how but he told me to go to YouBet.com, that it’s owned by Churchill Downs, that it’s all legal. I scoffed and said “Just gimme your picks” and I went to my local track to wager the simulcast only to find that they weren’t carrying that track right then. Grrr….. and the trifecta came in at $140. For a $1 ticket.

Argh.

So I sit here tonight thinking “Well, why the hell not play it” and I then think “Dad didn’t mention any juice” so I pull up the website. nope. No juice. in fact they’re offering a 5% bonus on certain harness tracks in the NYC area. And in fact they handle tracks all over the world - Even Australia and Hong Kong. Yeowza.

Then I get the kicker.

They take a small juice on the deposits (a flat $1.70 I think) but. There’s always a but, and $1.70 on a $100 deposit is less than 20% of the juice of a sportsbook. No, unless you have $350 of action per month (note that’s not deposits, that’s just action. Three hundred and fifty dollars in bets regardless of outcome) you gotta pay $10.95 for service.

Yeah I gotta think about that a little more. Horses pay better than any other system of wagering (I’ve got the ponies down good) but there’s something to be said about just going to the track and having NO juice or “service fees” at all. And enjoying a beer in the grandstand to boot.

My father loves it though. They make wire transfers direct to his bank account.