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Bill to Authorize Fixed-Odds Wagering Introduced in New Jersey

New Jersey moved one step closer to becoming the first state in the country to allow fixed-odds wagering on horse races when a bill that would authorize that form of betting was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature Thursday.

The bill was introduced by New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal and an identical bill has been sponsored by Assembly Gaming Committee Chairman Ralph Caputo and Deputy Republican Leader Assemblyman Ronald Dancer. With the bill enjoying bipartisan support, expectations are that it will pass and will be signed into law by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy some time before the beginning of the 2021 meet at Monmouth.

In February, it was announced that Darby Development LLC., the operator of Monmouth Park, had entered into a 10-year agreement with the Australian firm BetMakers in which BetMakers would manage and distribute fixed-odds betting on Monmouth’s races. Monmouth had hoped to offer fixed-odds betting during the 2020 meet, but the review process conducted by the Attorney General’s office dragged on longer than expected. Should the legislation pass it is expected that fixed-odds wagering can begin without any further delays and without the requirement that it be approved by the Attorney General’s office.

“The Company is pleased that the legislation has been introduced and supported by both sides of the aisle, and that it provides a clear framework for Fixed Odds horse racing in New Jersey,” BetMakers CEO Todd Buckingham said in Monday’s press release. “The introduction of the Bill is an important step for providing a regulatory pathway for the introduction of Fixed Odds Betting in the U.S. and places New Jersey as the front-running State in the U.S. to pursue this opportunity.”

BetMakers Head of International Operations Dallas Baker said the takeout on fixed odds betting has yet to be determined but “will be pretty similar to what you see with the tote or maybe a little bit more competitive.”

At this stage in the process, fixed odds wagering will be available for New Jersey residents only and only on New Jersey tracks. However, Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development, said that BookMakers will look to expand and sign up tracks outside of New Jersey. In order to do so, they will have to comply with the Interstate Horseracing Act, which requires consent from the racetrack operators and a local horsemen’s group. He added that there is a possibility that fixed odds betting could begin before the Monmouth meet and at one of the two harness tracks in the state, the Meadowlands and Freehold.

BetMakers will attempt to expand the form of wagering outside of the tracks themselves and ADW companies and bring the many firms that accept sports betting on board, as well.

Fixed odds wagering has proved to be extremely popular in Australia. Baker said that it was introduced in Australia about ten years ago and is the primary reason handle in that country has doubled since that time.

“If you study the model of Australia, it has really grown the business there,” Drazin said.. “And our business over here has stagnated a little bit. This is a new opportunity to grow the market.”

One of the advantages of fixed odds wagering is that it prevents what is a growing problem in American racing, large odds drops in the pari-mutuel pools on horses after the race has begun.

“As a racetrack operator who talks to people, talks to our customers, one of the biggest complaints I get is when someone says they bet a horse at 8-5 and by the time they broke out of the gate and went a little bit the horse was 3-5,” Drazin said. “They think something has to be wrong with this picture. This way the bettor will have clarity on what the odds are and they’re not going to change. It will result in better satisfaction for the person making the wager.”

This will not be New Jersey’s first foray into fixed odds wagering. New Jersey had been the only state to allow wagering on the betting exchange Betfair. The exchange allows customers to set prices on horses and bets are matched when two bettors agreed on the odds. After a run of four-plus years, Betfair pulled the plug on the New Jersey exchange at the end of September, saying that handle was so low that they couldn’t justify continuing on. One of the problems with Betfair is that it never reached agreements with most of the major tracks that would have allowed New Jersey customers to wager on them Drazin said he hopes that BetMakers does not run into the same problem.

“This is going to be good for our business if everybody gets on board,” he said. “If only a few tracks offer it and it’s not the major tracks it will suffer the same growth problems exchange wagering had.”

BetMakers is also behind the $1 million BetMakers Bonanza, a $1 million bonus that combines the GI Haskell S., the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Having already won the Derby and the Haskell, Authentic (Into Mischief) will earn the bonus if he wins the Classic.

“One of the things we want to do is give back to the industry,” Baker said. “This is a good opportunity and we jumped on the chance to sponsor it. It’s exciting to see that Authentic is alive for the bonus going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

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Monmouth Jockeys Upset Over New Whip Rules

Several of the regulars who ride at Monmouth Park say they were never consulted by the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) before banning the use of the whip starting in 2021 and, if they were, they would have told regulators they were out of touch and creating an untenable situation.

“This is a really, really, really bad decision,” said Antonio Gallardo, who is fourth in the current standings. “You can’t just take the whip right away like that. If they wanted to put in a rule like they have in Europe, where you can’t whip the horse more than something like eight times, I’d have been fine with that. But what they did is just take the whip away. It’s ridiculous.”

Beginning with the opening day of next year’s Monmouth meet, New Jersey will become the first state to outright ban the use of the whip. The only exception is when a rider feels it is needed for safety purposes. The measure was approved by a 4-0 vote at Sept. 16 meeting of the NJRC.

“The prohibition of the use of riding crops, except when necessary for the safety of horse or rider, will be perceived in a positive light by the general public,” read a statement from the NJRC. “The proposed repeal and new rules are of the utmost importance in adapting the industry to avoid the currently negative public perception of whipping a horse.”

Among the eight Monmouth riders interviewed by the TDN, only newcomer Ferrin Peterson supported the whip ban.

“I have no problem with the new rule,” she said. “I think it will reward good horsemanship, and riders may have to rely upon different skills, but at the end of the day, horses love to run no matter how we encourage them to do so.”

The others were against the change and brought up a number of issues, including safety concerns, uncompetitive racing and that commissioners who have little knowledge of racing and horsemanship are behind the changes.

Joe Bravo, who has won 13 riding titles at Monmouth, said that the changes fail to take into account several factors and the whip ban will “change horse racing as we know it.” Among Bravo’s concerns is his belief that the elimination of the whip will fundamentally change the way races are run.

“I am shocked by this,” he said. “This rule takes away all the competition that makes up a horse race. The competitiveness of the race will be the biggest change. How do you get horses that are next to one another to go on and fight and have a race down the lane? There will be no competition. Horses are pack animals. They follow one another. How will you get them to pass one another? From a competitive standpoint, these races will be really dull.”

Gallardo agrees with Bravo’s point and says that there is going to be backlash when it comes to the bettors.

“Who’s going to want to bet on Monmouth Park? Nobody will bet on it,” he said. “One hundred percent, nobody will bet on Monmouth with no whips. If nobody bets there will be no money. No money, no racing. Game over.”

Paco Lopez, Monmouth’s leading rider and someone known for an aggressive style, said there are horses that will not give their best without encouragement. Take the whip away, he said, and there will be horses that will underperform.

“I’m not happy about (the new whip rule),” he said. “This will change the races a lot. There are some horses that really need the whip. People are paying a lot of money for these horses and when you can use the whip any horse can win.”

Lopez also mentioned safety factors, which has become a common refrain from riders throughout the country as more and more states look to either ban the whip or curb its use. The jockeys say the whip is a tool to keep them safe when a horse starts to otherwise become uncontrollable.

“This is going to make it more dangerous,” Jose Ferrer said. “You need the whip to correct the horse. These horses have their own minds. The whip is a weapon we have to be able to control the horse.”

Said jockey Jorge A. Vargas: “This will make it a lot more difficult when you are trying to keep a horse straight. You won’t have anything to make them do what you want them to do. They know that when they feel something, it means they are doing something wrong, that you are telling them they have to do it right. This will make it more dangerous. They will do stuff that you might not be able to see on a replay or watching the race live, but the jockey feels something and you have to correct them right away. It’s not like you can just talk to them and make them understand.”

So far as public perception goes, jockey Hector Diaz, Jr. said that people should understand that the jockeys are not abusing the horse when using the whip.

“I became a rider four years ago and they have changed the whip already three times, making it safer,” he said. “With the whips we are using right now, I don’t feel like we are hurting the horse. It makes more noise than anything else. It’s soft. Nobody should abuse the horse and nobody should hit them five, six times in a row. I can only talk about myself, but when you see me riding I never hit my horse more than two or three times in a row. I hit them once, twice and let them respond. I don’t think I abuse the horse.”

Ferrer also described himself as the type of rider who does not go overboard with the whip.

“I love my horses and I never want to abuse them,” he said. “It is something you need to pick them up or wake them up a little bit. We are not abusing these horses.”

Had the NJRC conferred with the jockeys, those are the stories they would have heard. While that may not have changed the minds of any of the commissioners, the jockeys feel their opinions should have been taken into account.

“You have people who don’t really know the industry calling the shots,” said veteran Chris DeCarlo. “They’ve never come down and asked for our opinion, which I think they should. They can’t just make these rules up without asking us.”

“They did something overnight without asking any of the riders or the horsemen,” Bravo said. “How can four people with very limited knowledge of horsemanship vote in this ruling? I’ve seen where (NJRC Executive Director) Judith Nason said she rides horses. With all due respect, that’s in a riding ring. They came in and, overnight, voted in something that’s going to change horse racing as we know it.”

But Bravo admitted that, at this point, there is little the riders can do other than come back next year and try their best to make the necessary adjustments.

“I don’t know what we can do,” he said. “As they say, there is no fighting City Hall.”

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New Jersey Enacts Nation’s Most Stringent Whipping Ban

Starting at next year’s Monmouth Park meet, whipping a Thoroughbred will not be allowed by any New Jersey jockey or exercise rider except for the express purpose of ensuring the immediate safety of the horse or rider.

Spanning three new rules covering prohibition, allowable usage for safety, and whip construction, the trio of regulations were voted in 4-0 by the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) at its Sept. 16 meeting, making the state the first in the nation to ban whipping beyond protection in an emergency situation.

If a jockey or exercise rider uses the riding crop in a manner contrary to the new rules, he or she will be subject to a fine, suspension, or forfeiture of the jockey’s share of the purse “if, in the opinion of the stewards, the unauthorized use of the whip caused the horse to achieve a better placing,” the new rules state.

Judith Nason, the NJRC’s executive director, said the new regulations could be approved by the state office of administrative law in time to go into effect at the tail end of this autumn’s Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet.

But after fielding a question about timing from Dennis Drazin, the chairman and chief executive of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth, Nason said the commission is open to waiting until 2021 to begin enforcement in Thoroughbred races (the rule also covers Standardbred racing).

“That would give us a chance to meet with the jockeys and educate the jockeys regarding the new rule,” Nason said.

If a rider does use the whip on a horse, the rules state that the strike shall not be “in a manner that causes any visible sign, mark, welt, or break in the skin of the horse, or that is otherwise excessive.”

The rules continue: “If the riding crop is used, under the supervision of the stewards, there shall be a visual inspection of each horse following each race for evidence of excessive or brutal use of the riding crop.”

The whips must be “soft-padded [and] have a shaft and a soft tube” that does not exceed eight ounces in weight or 30 inches in length, with a minimum shaft diameter of three-eighths of one inch.

“The shaft, beyond the grip, must be smooth, with no protrusions or raised surface, and covered by shock absorbing material that gives a compression factor of at least one millimeter throughout its circumference,” the regulations state.

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Betfair Ends Exchange Wagering For New Jersey Customers

The Thoroughbred Daily News reported Friday that Betfair will cease accepting exchange wagers from New Jersey customers beginning Oct. 1 of this year.

The concept of exchange wagering, in which users can offer their own odds on a horse or accept another user's odds, is popular overseas, where takeout in the form of commissions is estimated at 5 percent. It seems the practice didn't really catch on as well in the United States, where takeout was closer to 12 percent due to the requirement a portion of the wager go to support purses.

The 2018 annual report for the New Jersey Racing Commission indicated the exchange handled over $12.3 million that year; more recent data was not available.

Betfair launched in New Jersey in 2016 but was unable to get agreements to take bets in major racing states like New York, California, and Kentucky. Exchange wagering was legalized in California but never made available there, and New Jersey remained the only state customers could actually access exchange wagering.