In a major win for horseplayers, Ellis Park on Friday will become the first track in the country to pay out to the penny — rather than the traditional rounding down to the nearest dime — on dollar payoffs.
The result will be more money returned to bettors. Kentucky's General Assembly last spring passed legislation requiring that so-called “breakage” be paid to the penny, with that provision going into effect with Ellis Park's Friday card.
The legislation was sponsored in the Kentucky House by Rep. Adam Koenig of Erlanger and Rep. Al Gentry of Louisville and shepherded through the Kentucky Senate by Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer. The cause of returning breakage to the bettors long has been championed by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation executive director Patrick Cummings and TIF founder Craig Bernick, a prominent horse owner and president of Glen Hill Farm in Florida. In Koenig, they found a lawmaker equally as passionate about virtually eliminating breakage.
“This is a welcome and long overdue shift in pari-mutuel wagering to pay bettors the entirety of their duly deserved winnings,” Cummings said in a TIF release. “Kentucky is leading the way, and if a horseplayer wants to enjoy the entirety of a winning dividend, they should be betting on races run in Kentucky.”
Koenig will be at Ellis Park to witness the first time bettors will be paid rounding down to the penny.
“I'm excited,” he said. “Most importantly, it takes care of the horseplayers in a way that no one has ever seen before. It's either going to become a standard throughout the industry or it's going to be an enormous plus for Kentucky racing. You read stories about how big players get additional rebates. Well, now the little players are going to get additional rebates.”
Koenig says he plans to bet $2 to show on every horse in the first race Friday.
“That way I'll cash three tickets,” he said. “I think I'm going to do it on my (online) account, so I can snap a photo and have it forever.”
To show the difference breakage makes, TIF provides this example: Previously, if the “unbroken” return on a show bet was $1.4854928, the return for every $1 unit was rounded down to $1.40. Where before such a $2 bet would return $2.80, now it would pay $2.96 on a Kentucky race.
“We've reviewed and tested penny breakage for a Friday start and we're set to go,” said Ellis Park General Manager Jeff Inman. “We're very pleased that Rep. Koenig will be present to witness the start. We know the veteran horseplayers will be thrilled with the change, and we're curious how the casual bettor will react.”
The virtual elimination of breakage was part of HB 607 that also standardized the excise tax on every pari-mutuel wager placed in the state and also made claiming races eligible for purse supplements paid out to registered Kentucky-bred horses through the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.
In the past, Kentucky tracks and their horsemen split the on-track breakage, while off-track and online bet-takers kept the money. The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation estimates that $35 million over the last five years was collected and retained as breakage from Kentucky races.
The post Ellis Park Becomes First American Track Paying Out To The Penny appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
