Featuring several “guarantees” on large pools and a “winner’s bonus” for Sunday cards, Del Mar’s betting menu for the 2012 season falls in line for the most part with the previous year’s offerings, but does provide some extra zip to racing fans.
The seaside track, which opens its season on Wednesday, July 18, will present 14 different wagers, starting with the traditional win, place and show and running all the way down to several five- and six-horse combination bets.
One of the most popular selections at the track – the Pick Six – will be presented this year with guaranteed pools on all racing days. The bet, which requires punters to pick the winners of the last six races on the day’s card and often results in large payoffs, will have a guaranteed pool of $125,000 on weekdays and $250,000 on weekends.
As it did last year, Del Mar additionally will provide a “winner’s bonus” of $50,000 to each Sunday’s Pick Six. The bonus is for winning tickets only, so in the case of two winners on the day, for instance, each would have an additional $25,000 added to their prize. If there are no winning Pick Six tickets on a Sunday program, that $50,000 bonus will be added to the “carryover” for the next racing day. However, in the case where there is already a “carryover” coming into a Sunday program, no additional bonus monies will be provided.
As it did last year, the track also will offer guaranteed pools on its Pick Four bet, requiring the selection of the winners for the day’s final four events. The guaranteed pool for this .50¢-minimum wager is $250,000 on weekdays and $500,000 on weekends.
“Our guarantees are important for racing fans,” said Del Mar’s senior vice president for marketing Craig Dado. “They underline a fact that exists throughout our meet – that we have very large betting pools. If you’re a serious player looking for rock-solid liquidity, Del Mar is where you want to come play.”
As it has for the past three seasons, Del Mar will conduct a 37-day meeting, racing on a Wednesday through Sunday basis up until Wednesday, September 5. There will be one additional day added to the seven-week schedule – a holiday program on Labor Day Monday, September 3.
A bet that was instituted last year – the .50¢ Player’s Pick Five – is back on the betting menu again this season. The wager requires picking the winners of the day’s first five races and will be available at a minimum price of .50¢. It carries the additional advantage of having a takeout of only 14%.
The track had experimented with a head-to-head bet in 2011 on its Saturday feature races. But the wager, which had a reduced takeout of 10%, failed to stir fan interest and will not return for the 2012 season.
The full array of Del Mar bets is as follows: $2 win, place and show; $1 Exacta; $2 Quinella; $1 Trifecta; $2 rolling Double; $1 rolling Pick Three; $1 Superfecta (.10¢ minimum); $1 Place Pick All; $1 Super High Five; $2 Pick Six; .50¢ Player’s Pick Five, and .50¢ Pick Four.
First post throughout the meet for the most part is at 2 p.m. Fridays are an exception when the track presents its “Four O’Clock Friday” programs featuring popular rock bands following the day’s last race. First post on all Fridays is 4 p.m.