#US RACING: FIXED-ODDS WAGERING BY BETMAKERS AT MONMOUTH SLOW BUT PROMISING

The dawn of fixed-odds wagering at Monmouth Park may be only five racing days old, but already two of the main claims made by the people behind it have proven to be true.

As officials predicted when Monmouth teamed with its partner in the venture, Australia-based BetMakers, wagering through a brand-new format for American fans has been minimal in its initial days with betting available only on-track at the Jersey Shore venue. Yet for those customers at the track placing fixed-odds wagers, they have been presented with numerous opportunities for great wagering value as the closing payoffs on winners have exceeded the pari-mutuel prices virtually 70% of the time.

"We knew there will be slow growth because for now the wagering is limited, but it's an exciting growth opportunity for us and the entire racing industry in the United States," said Dennis Drazin, the CEO and chairman of Darby Development which operates Monmouth Park. "Most people are telling me they are spending some time shopping and finding better payoffs, which is gratifying to hear."

Fixed odds, a staple overseas in Europe and Australia, allows a bettor to lock in odds and payoffs. While those odds can rise and fall during the wagering period, much like sports betting, bettors are assured of their payoff. In contrast, in pari-mutuel wagering someone can bet on a horse at 3-1 and then watch those odds rise and fall before they wind up with the final odds when the pools close.

At the current time, win, place, and show fixed-odds wagering is limited to about six windows at Monmouth Park that usually accept bets beginning about 24 hours before the race. That explains why the daily handle for fixed-odds has been in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, but once Monmouth and BetMakers can offer the wager online and add additional American and international tracks, officials are confident that figure will jump dramatically.

"The first weeks, months, even year, has always been about a gradual start, creating the system, making sure everything works right," said Dallas Baker, head of international operations for BetMakers, which manages the wagering for Monmouth. "When you launch something like this there is always going to be a few bugs in the system. Nothing major that's prevented the flow of wagering, but what you want to offer is the gold standard to your customers. We're getting everything up and running and we're almost there. Maybe we're a few weeks away, but our goal is to have everything perfect by Haskell Day (July 23) with more tracks and online wagering. That's the challenge we have put on ourselves."

Monmouth had hoped to introduce fixed-odds on the May 7 opening day of its meet, which coincided with Kentucky Derby Day and promised to feature one of the biggest crowds of the year. Unfortunately, a deluge of rain forced the cancellation of the first Saturday in May card and on-track attendance for the two days of racing per week since then (Saturday and Sunday in May) has been minimal. Yet Baker, who has been on-hand for each day of racing, sees some optimistic signs in the way a small but growing number of people are beginning to embrace the bet and the notion of shopping for the best possible odds.