Fair Grounds Latest to Adopt Net Pool Pricing

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(from Fair Grounds release)
Fair Grounds Race Course will adopt net pool pricing to calculate payouts on winning wagers beginning with Thursday's program at Harrah's Louisiana Downs.

Net pool pricing will allow participation in Fair Grounds wagering pools by racing fans in Canada and, potentially, other countries that typically have pari-mutuel takeout rates that differ from those at U.S. tracks.

The adoption of net pool pricing provides the potential for larger wagering pools, but prices on pools with multiple winners – such as place or show pools or pools with a dead-heat – could calculate to a slightly different pay-out than under the industry's standard pricing. Favorites that win races at Fair Grounds could pay a bit less, while longshots could pay slightly more – but the total amount of money paid out to the wagering public will not change.

Net pool pricing was adopted at Canada's Woodbine when it hosted the Breeders' Cup in 1996. Racing fans at Fair Grounds or other U.S. tracks that have wagered on simulcast races from Woodbine in recent years have already experienced the new pricing method. Net pool pricing went into effect at two other Churchill Downs Incorporated tracks, Arlington Park and Churchill Downs, earlier this year.

At its most recent meeting, the Louisiana State Racing Commission approved a measure allowing tracks to adopt net pool pricing.

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