Tag: Horseplayers

The “Beat Byk NHC Challenge,” the popular promotion involving Steve Byk, host of the Thoroughbred radio news magazine “At the Races” on Sirius XM, returns this coming Saturday, July 16, with a lucrative new wrinkle. In addition to winning a berth in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) next March in Las Vegas, the grand prize winner of the “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will be eligible to compete at the NHC for a “$1,000,000 Beat Byk NHC Bonus, presented by John Unick of Insurance Office of America (IOA).”

The “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” will be conducted over eight weeks beginning this Saturday and concluding September 4. Each week throughout the promotion, Byk will select the weekend stakes races to comprise that week's promotion and announce them on “At the Races” and on his twitter page, @Steve_Byk. Byk's selections will be announced no later than each Friday.

There will be 16 chances during the promotional period for fans to qualify to the Beat Byk NHC Online Qualifier on September 17. Listeners will be encouraged to log into https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/ where they will either use Byk's selection to win the featured race or try to 'beat Byk' by selecting another horse.

All who correctly select the winning horse in at least one round will advance to the September 17 online qualifier where the grand prize winner will be determined. Participants may qualify only once during the promotional period. In addition to winning a berth at the NHC, the grand prize winner of the “Beat Byk” online qualifier will represent “At the Races” at the 2023 NHC March 10-12 at the newly rebranded Horseshoe Las Vegas (formerly Bally's), where he or she will compete for the “$1,000,000 Beat Byk NHC Bonus, presented by John Unick of Insurance Office of America (IOA).”

NHC Tour membership is required to compete in the September NHC online qualifier. Complete rules for the “Beat Byk NHC Challenge” and “$1,000,000 Beat Byk NHC Bonus, presented by John Unick of Insurance Office of America (IOA)” can be found at https://www.ntra.com/beatbyk/.

“At the Races with Steve Byk” is Thoroughbred racing's only national daily news and talk show. The show also streams live on www.stevebyk.com.

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Bettors wagering on racing from Kentucky will enjoy returns paid to the penny beginning on Friday, July 15. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission confirmed to the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF) the shift will take effect this week, three months after legislation enabling the change to penny breakage was passed by the Kentucky General Assembly and signed into law.

“This is a welcome and long overdue shift in pari-mutuel wagering to pay bettors the entirety of their duly deserved winnings,” said Patrick Cummings, TIF's Executive Director.

“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.

“This will be the first time in American history a racing jurisdiction is requiring payment to the penny for all wagers and we hope it will not be the last. This should put more money in the hands and accounts of horseplayers and inspire additional churn, something everyone across the sport should seek, yet remarkably eludes us as churn-killing super exotic bets and jackpot bets have expanded.

“We are incredibly thankful for the efforts of Kentucky Representative Adam Koenig, bill co-sponsor Representative Al Gentry and Senator Damon Thayer for their support over the years to bring this topic to the fore. They continue to look out for the best interests of horseplayers and the greater sport.”

For the modern history of pari-mutuel wagering in American racing, winning dividends have generally been rounded to the lowest ten-cent unit, with limited exceptions. Going forward, the dividend is rounded to the lowest penny.

Until now, if the unbroken return on a show bet was $1.4854928, the return for every $1 unit was rounded down to $1.40. A $2 bet returned $2.80.

Beginning Friday, in the above example a winning bettor would receive $1.48 for every $1. A $2 bet in this example would return $2.96, a meaningful increase in the profit returned to customers.

The campaign to bring penny breakage to horseplayers was the topic of the first white paper in TIF history. It can be reviewed by clicking here.

Cummings said: “This effort would not have been possible without the tireless support of TIF Founder and Glen Hill Farm President & CEO Craig Bernick, who has been so remarkably driven to improve American horse racing for its voluntary financial participants – horseplayers and horse owners. If we make the sport better for them, the benefits trickle to every corner of the industry.”

An estimated $35 million was collected and retained as breakage from Kentucky races over the last five, full fiscal years. Under the new law, nearly all of that money would go back to winning bettors.

“Breaking to the penny will put millions of dollars back into the hands of horseplayers each year, wherever they are betting on Kentucky racing,” Cummings added. “Until other states make the change, Kentucky will have the advantage.”

Kentucky tracks and horsemen split on-track breakage in the past, while off-track bets and ADW bets saw breakage retained by the respective bet-taker. Going forward, all bettors of races run in Kentucky will enjoy a full winning dividend rounded to the penny. Sub-penny breakage will still be retained.

The post Penny Breakage On Kentucky Racing Begins This Friday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The historic Canfield Casino, a Saratoga Springs landmark, will be the location for a fun-money casino charity event to benefit Trauma and Resiliency Resources (TRR).

The fundraiser will be part of the activities scheduled for attendees of the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga (RGCS), Aug. 15 – 17, at the Saratoga Hilton.

Canfield Casino's enchanting beauty and rich history dates to the 1870s. Originally built by John Morrissey, the founder of the Saratoga Race Course, and substantially improved two decades later by gentleman gambler Richard Canfield, the Monte Carlo of America is a preserved jewel of Italianate architecture. Although the Canfield stopped functioning as a gambling parlor in 1907, it established Saratoga Springs as a gambling town and opened the door for the likes of Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky, all of whom built and owned gambling establishments in Saratoga Springs beginning a mere decade later, The RGCS will transform the venue to a mock casino with plenty of food, drinks, and themed cocktails.

Proceeds raised from the casino event will go to support TRR, a charity that uses Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). EAP is a powerful psychotherapeutic approach that uses retired racehorses as part of a psychotherapy for combat veterans. Working with horses has helped veterans discover and overcome unhealthy patterns and behaviors, especially as they affect their relationships with other people.

Hattie's Restaurant, an iconic Saratoga Springs eatery since 1938, known for its famous fried chicken, will cater the event to be held, Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. The RGCS will also host two additional networking events – a Welcome Cocktail Reception on Monday night, Aug. 15, at the popular 408 Saratoga, located in the heart of downtown Saratoga Springs, and an afternoon of racing at the historic Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

RGCS will also offer a broad agenda addressing critical horse racing and gaming-industry topics including:

• Responsible Gaming: Are Programs and Funding Keeping Pace with Industry Growth?
• State Lotteries – Finding Avenues for Growth
• Sports Betting: What's Next?
• Downstate Casino Expansion
• Online Casinos
• The Rise (or Scourge) of Unregulated Gaming Machines
• M&A Investment Trends in Sports Betting and Online Gaming
• Gaming Regulation in the Digital Age: Are “Analog” Regulations and Regulators Sufficient to Police the Digital Gaming Market?
• The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and the Future of Racing
• Horse Racing, NFTs, and the Metaverse
• Aftercare for Race Horses: Who Pays?
• Fixed Odds and the Future of Horse Betting

The conference is jointly produced by Tinhorn Productions and Spectrum Gaming Group. To register, view the RGCS agenda & reserve a room at the host hotel, visit www.racingandgamingsaratoga.com

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The NYRA Triple Play will be offered for the first time at Saratoga Race Course with an all-turf sequence on Friday's card, including the co-featured Coronation Cup and Grade 3 Forbidden Apple.

The NYRA Triple Play is a Pick 3 wager with a $3 bet minimum and a takeout rate of 19 percent. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Saratoga meet, the NYRA Triple Play will feature three specially selected races.

Friday's sequence kicks off in Race 5 at 3:21 p.m. Eastern with a field of 12 contesting at 1 1/16-miles in a $35,000 claiming event over the Mellon turf course. Albert Fried, Jr.'s Al's Prince races for a tag after finishing an even sixth in an allowance on June 5 at Belmont Park. He broke his maiden by a nose two starts back in a $40,000 maiden claimer for his first start over the lawn.

The Mike Maker-trained Juulstone finished a good third last time out in a non-winners of two $30,000 claimer on June 16 sprinting seven furlongs at Belmont. He will stretch out for the first time since last April for his sixth start of the year. The lightly-raced The Man to See drops in for a tag for the first time for trainer Lacey Gaudet as he tries for his first win against winners.

The middle leg will see Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint-winner Twilight Gleaming try for her second win this year in the $150,000 Coronation Cup for sophomore fillies sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon turf [Race 8, 5:05 p.m.].

Trained by Wesley Ward, Twilight Gleaming was a last-out winner of the listed Mamzelle on May 14 at Churchill Downs, which came on the heels of a close runner-up finish in the Palisades in April at Keeneland for her sophomore debut. Grade 3 Miss Preakness winner Lady Scarlet will make her second career outing over the turf as she looks for her third stakes victory. Steep opposition will be provided by stakes winners Poppy Flower, Mystic Eyes, Derrynane and Marissa's Lady.

The sequence concludes with the Grade 3, $175,000 Forbidden Apple in Race 9 [5:39 p.m.]. Brad Cox trainee Set Piece was last seen taking the Grade 2 Dinner Party at Pimlico Race Course on May 21, scoring his first victory since the Grade 2 Wise Dan last June at Churchill Downs. The competitive field of older turf specialists also includes the Ian Wilkes-trained Grade 3 winner Mira Mission, who has garnered triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in his last three outings, including a close fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile where he was defeated 1 1/4 lengths by Shirl's Speight.

Trainer Chad Brown will hope to see Public Sector pick up another graded win at the Spa after visiting the winner's circle twice last summer for the Grade 2 Hall of Fame and Grade 3 Saranac.

Featuring a $3 bet minimum, the NYRA Triple Play will cover three races on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at Saratoga Race Course. Each NYRA Triple Play will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. Wagering on the NYRA Triple Play will be available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country.

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

NYRA Triple Play, Friday, July 15:
Leg A: Saratoga, Race 5, $35,000 claiming (3:21 p.m. Eastern)
Leg B: Saratoga, Race 8, $150,000 Coronation Cup (5:05 p.m.)
Leg C: Saratoga, Race 9, G3 Forbidden Apple (5:39 p.m.)

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