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Bad Bet
Published: 6/19/2009 11:02 AM
Last Modified: 6/19/2009 11:02 AM

Thursday at Fair Meadows, a horse race track here in Tulsa, a horse named Wampas Cat paid $31.40 in winning a five and a half furlong race.

The Exacta in that race -- a bet involving the first two finishers in the exact order -- paid $28.70. It should have paid six times that.

In the seventh race there Thursday, a horse paid $11.40 in winning another five and a half furlong race.

The quinella -- wagering on first and second in any order -- paid $12.80.

In the tenth race at four furlongs, the winner paid $84.40 to win.

Nobody had a winning quinella ticket. Nobody had a winning Trifecta ticket.

What does this mean?

It means nobody is going to the weekday races at Fair Meadows. Worse still, it means that nobody is betting the races! Because of revenue boosts from slot machines, the purses are fine. One purse for thoroughbreds Thursday night was for $18,550.

But with only pocket change being bet, the weekday races are like exhibitions, not wagering propositions. If a person bet twenty bucks, he or she could knock the odds down to nothing. So you wind up betting against yourself.

Fair Meadows needs to fix this lack of wagering mess. Get some bets -- through simulcast outlets or live attendance. Or shut it down during the week.




Reader Comments 6 Total
Dash Riprock (4 years ago)
Richard Linihan you do a fabulous job, but please heed the Picker's words.
Lance-a-lot (4 years ago)
Slow news week?
Captain Stormfield (4 years ago)
We went last night (Friday) and it wasn't much better. Sat out on the apron and spent most of the time chuckling at the oddities up on the toteboard. I saw several horses go right up to posttime with no money bet on them to win. Very strange seeing that goose egg up there. What would they do, pay off for second? My wife hammered a horse down from 80-1 to 56-1 with a two-dollar wager. The late double went unhit along with several tris and supers.

If your goal in life is to have the only winning ticket, to take down the whole pool (such as it is), then Fair Meadows is your track.
The Picker (4 years ago)
C Stormfield: It really is a waste of time to make a bet without simulcast $ coming from somewhere west. Somebody said there was some simulcast action Friday or Saturday, as last Friday they race in LA.
Arbythree (4 years ago)
Watched Let It Ride, which I own, again last night.

Thought about hitting the track this week, but you just talked me out of it.
The Picker (4 years ago)
Arby with cheese: Friday or Saturday should be fine for the local races; the simulcast sites coming form all over the country in the great sports bar/betting room are all good all the time.
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Out Pick The Picker

The Picker began entertaining – and infuriating – sports fans in 1993. Each week during football season, he writes about his picks of college and NFL games in his Thursday Sports column. He's never afraid of sharing his opinions about the game and the personalities who play it. Readers have a chance to go against him each season in the Outpick the Picker contest. He welcomes the competition.

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