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Grants Pass Downs Generates Record Handle On Opening Day Card

El Alto Hombre swept past Pure Pursuit into the stretch and rolled to a 2 ¼-length victory Monday in the inaugural running of the $12,000 Caveman Stakes for 3-year-olds and up on opening night at Grants Pass Downs.

Ridden by Jose Figueroa at 126 lbs, El Alto Hombre ran five furlongs in :58.45 seconds and paid $9.20 as the second choice in the wagering.

Trained by Liz Kowalski and owned by Anthony Hoover, El Alto Hombre delivered an emotional victory for his connections Monday. David Hoover, trainer of El Alto Hombre and brother of the owner, died last week following a training accident and the horse was transferred to Kowalski's care.

“I spoke to David the day before he passed away and I entered the horse on his wishes,” Kowalski said. “It's not the way you wish to gain a horse, but I am immensely proud to have this horse.”

A 6-year-old Kentucky-bred by Archarcharch, El Alto Hombre earned $6,600 for the victory and is 10-11-4 in 30 career starts with earnings of $51,148. His Grants Pass record is 5-7-1 from 15 starts, including a second in the Oregon Caves Stakes last June.

In the Caveman, El Alto Hombre settled in third behind dueling leaders Pure Pursuit and Desalut, as those two blazed through an opening quarter mile in :21.63 seconds. Pure Pursuit won the pace battle, shaking off Desalut after a half-mile in :45.42, but El Alto Hombre would not be denied. The winner gathered momentum on the last turn, collared Pure Pursuit into the lane and drew off to win with authority.

Pure Pursuit, ridden by Patrick Henry Jr., held second, and Golden Cowboy, ridden by Taylor Smith, finished third. Count Alexei, the 5 to 2 favorite, finished fourth and was followed by Molaf, Pulpits Power, Chill, Dusalut, Keyson and Capes Hot Rocket.

On-track attendance was 735 and the total handle of $461,959 established a record for an eight-race program at Grants Pass Downs.

NOTES: Heavily favored Hey Sequoia ($2.80) rallied under Mckenzie King to capture the 2021 spring/summer meet opener for owner Leon Scott and trainer Quinn Howey, running the 1 1/16 miles in 1:50 flat. The 6-year-old British Columbia-bred is now three for four lifetime at Grants Pass Downs and was claimed Monday for $4,000 by owner Al Peterson and trainer Jorge Rosales. . .Fiesty Town Lady ($43.60) scored off a 30-month layoff in race five, leading gate to wire under Jose Guerrero in 1:00.35 for five furlongs. A 7-year-old Washington-bred mare owned by Brenda Ibarra and trained by Diego Guerrero, Fiesty Town Lady's previous start was November 6, 2018 at Portland Meadows. . . Fiesty Town Lady and sixth race winner Wishful One ($23) helped produce a mammoth $15,981.20 payout to one winning ticket in the $0.50 Pick 4. . . Guerrero and Eduardo Gutierrez-Sosa rode two winners each on the eight-race card. . .10-year-old Aotearoa ($7), winner of Monday's eighth race, won the 2013 Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita and finished seventh in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. . .Oregon-breds won both Quarter Horse races—Chumbley ($6.20) clicking under Gutierrez-Sosa in race two and No Juans Fool ($4.20) scoring his maiden victory under Joree Scriver in race three. . .The 2021 spring/summer meet continues Tuesday with an eight-race program at 5:15 p.m.

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‘I’m A Horseman’: McIngvale Makes Point To Place $2 Million Derby Bet On Track

James McIngvale, the colorful Houston furniture magnate and horse owner known as Mattress Mack, will make the largest wager in Kentucky Derby history Saturday on unbeaten favorite Essential Quality — and he's betting the $2 million or more at Churchill Downs in order to maximize the money that goes toward horsemen's purses.

McIngvale is famous for tying major sporting events into marketing promotions at his Gallery Furniture mega-stores. Customers who spend $3,000 or more on certain mattresses and bed sets in a given time frame get their money back (or 150 percent of what they spent in in-store credit) if the promotion's featured team — or in this case, horse — wins.

Also making headlines are the millions McIngvale has wagered to hedge his bet against giving away so many mattresses. Mack has bet through casinos to cover previous promotions on the World Series and Super Bowl, locking into fixed odds. However, he's making a point to put his money on Essential Quality through the Churchill Downs mutuel windows, where horsemen receive the biggest cut for purses.

McIngvale has a large racing operation best known for 2015 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and Eclipse Award champion sprinter Runhappy, now a stallion at Claiborne Farm. While no individual has been more heavily involved in horse-racing sponsorships than McIngvale, he said this is the first time he's used the outcome of a horse race as a Gallery Furniture marketing ventures.

“This is the first horse-racing event I've been able to use as a promotion,” said McIngvale. “The people at Churchill Downs have been great working with me on using their trademarks and this and that. Of course, I've been receiving calls from across the country, legal bookmakers wanting me to bet with them, people in some states where they don't contribute much if anything to the (betting) pool. Their pitch is that $2 million won't effect the pool, but you'll get the same odds as you would at Churchill.

“Well, I don't want to do that, because I'm a horseman. I know what pays those purses is the handle. So all the money I'm betting will be at Churchill Downs. Let's face it, Churchill Downs has to make some money, too, to put on the show. So it's good for Churchill, which is a tremendous track and promoter of horse racing, but most of all it's good for the owners, trainers, jockeys, the backstretch workers who put their life into the game. I didn't want to bet someplace else or offshore. I wanted to go where the track's dollars were maximized and the horse owners' dollars were maximized to support the ecosystem of the entire game.”

Churchill Downs' purse account — which funds the money for which owners' racehorses compete at any given track — receives approximately 10 percent of all on-track wagering. So $2 million bet on Essential Quality will reap about $200,000 for purses. The amount would be half or far less if the money were wagered off track through simulcasting, online or at a casino.

McIngvale said he's already wired the funds to Churchill Downs and plans to spend the day at the track.

“I haven't decided how much I'm going to bet. It depends on how many mattresses we sell,” he said. “But it will be at least $2 million. I have to figure whether to bet it all at once, or bet $500,000 three or four different times. How to structure it, whether I want to bet any exactas or just win bets or any place and show bets. I've got a lot of people advising me. I'm just worried about Essential Quality. I hope he wins. He's a deserving. It should be a great event. I'm just glad that whatever money I'm betting will go mainly to the horsemen and Churchill Downs, where it deserves to go.”

Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association, applauded McIngvale's move to bet on track.

“When people see these monstrous numbers in total handle wagered on a track's card, they think the horsemen get a tremendous split from all of that,” Maline said. “But there's a huge difference between $100 bet on a racetrack and $100 bet off-track as far as what goes to purses. I certainly don't want to denigrate the ADWs (online betting platforms), because that's broadened the market and allowed people to bet who otherwise couldn't. But a bet at the track contributes far more to purses than anywhere else it might be placed. Good for Mattress Mack.”

McIngvale, a philanthropist who sheltered storm victims in his furniture showrooms in the wake of Houston's 2019 flooding, also collaborated with Churchill Downs to bring about 300 foster-care parents, alumni and social-service workers to Saturday's Derby.

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Between The Hedges: Getting A Handle On Handle

Horseplayers can wager on as many as 77 different pools during nine-race cards at each of the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) tracks comprising Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

With so many options, a handicapper must decide on which wagers to focus on, negotiating a delicate balance between risk and reward in search of the best possible payout.

Over time, the betting public has settled on their favorite wagers at NYRA tracks. The most popular wagers at NYRA in 2020 – by average handle per pool – were the Empire 6 mandatory payout days [$2.8 million], the Early Pick 5 [$546K], the retail-only Late Pick 5 [$444K], and the Late Pick 4 [$429K].

The mandatory payout days of the Empire 6 ranged from $420K on an abbreviated carryover on February 23 to $6.1 million in Saratoga on August 9.

The Empire 6, a jackpot style wager offered at a $0.20 base, shifted to a daily mandatory payout in January 2021 and was replaced at the current Belmont Park spring/summer meet by a traditional Pick 6: a retail-only wager featuring a $1 base and 15 percent takeout with an opportunity for carryover days.

The success of multi-race wagers has garnered much attention. Twitter users post their plays and share their major scores, entire podcasts are dedicated to studying the sequences, and analysts on America's Day at the Races, the acclaimed national telecast produced by NYRA in partnership with FOX Sports, spend airtime discussing their tickets for the audience to follow along.

The multi-race wagers offer the best value on the wagering menu and allow fans the best chance to bet a little to win a lot. But these multi-race options represent only four out of the 77 wagers on a nine-race card. In 2020, the Empire 6 mandatory payout days, Early Pick 5, Late Pick 5, and Late Pick 4 only accounted for 15 percent of all handle.

So, what about the other wagers?

By total handle, the most popular NYRA wager is the exacta, which handled 22 percent of all wagers at NYRA in 2020. A close second was the win pool, which handled 21 percent of all wagers, while the trifecta pool finished third with 12 percent of all wagers.

Because of the sheer number of intra-race pools compared to multi-race pools, total intra-race handle exceeds multi-race pools. But the difference between the two is closing over the years.

2020 Average Handle per Pool and Total Number of Pools

While still popular, there have been noticeable drops in the exacta and trifecta pools as a percentage of total wagers. In 2016, intra-race pools comprised 76 percent of total handle. In 2020, that number was 71 percent. With more than $1.8 billion wagered on NYRA races in 2020, that reflects over $90 million of wagers shifted from intra-race to multi-race wagering.

What has caused the change?

Since 2016, the wagering menu has not changed except for the introduction of the Late Pick Five. First limited in the number of days offered, and only offered to customers of NYRA Bets, the pool eventually became a daily fixture open to the public starting in July 2019.

Additionally, the switch from a traditional $2 Pick Six to the $0.20 Empire 6 in August 2019 created mandatory payout carryover days that were more accessible to the average customer. These two new wagers gave bettors additional higher value opportunities on the back end of the card, which formerly was highlighted by the Late Pick 4. Clearly popular, bettors flocked to the new wagers.

The popularity of the Empire 6 and Late Pick 5 has impacted the handle on the Late Pick 4. Looking at the total percentage of NYRA handle since 2016, the Late Pick 4 is the only Pick N wager to lose significant market share in the NYRA wagering menu landscape. By comparison, the Early Pick 4 at the beginning of the race card has stayed consistent even as the Early Pick 5 grows in popularity.

Percentage of Total NYRA Handle – by Year by Pool

The change to a $1 traditional Pick 6 should provide some differentiation in the later portion of the card, and NYRA is looking forward to analyzing how players respond. This Thursday's card at Belmont will feature a Pick 6 carryover of more than $61,000.

An upcoming edition of Between The Hedges will offer a closer look at the $1 traditional Pick 6, which launched on Thursday's Opening Day card at Belmont.

For more information, please visit www.NYRABets.com and send your questions for Between The Hedges to betweenthehedges@nyrainc.com.

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Wagering At Aqueduct Spring Meet Shows 11.5 Percent Increase In Daily Average

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Tuesday that the boutique 11-day Aqueduct spring meet generated all-sources handle of $85,419,050, a 2.2 percent increase over the 2019 Aqueduct spring meet.

Average daily handle over the 11 days of live racing was $7,765,368, an 11.5 percent increase over 2019, when average daily handle over the 12 days of live racing was $6,964,947.

The 2020 spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack was canceled in its entirety due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance with New York State guidelines instituted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the 2021 Aqueduct spring meet was conducted without spectators and with only a limited number of owners and essential employees in attendance.

On-track handle, which includes wagering from New York residents utilizing NYRA Bets, was $5,734,531 compared to $9,987,247 in 2019.

The Belmont Park spring/summer meet, which features 59 total stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purses, will open on Thursday, April 22 and continue through Sunday, July 11.

For additional information, and the complete Belmont Park spring/summer stakes schedule, please visit NYRA.com.

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