Fixed Odds Arrive At Monmouth Park
The third race at Monmouth Park on Sunday was Opening Day for the thoroughbred track’s annual summer meet. Fixed-odds betting is the new way to bet on racehorses. Chiquito Baby, the morning line longshot at 30/1, was treated like a different horse on the fixed- Odds line set by Australia-based BetMakers compared to the betting public.
The launch of fixed odds betting on horse racing in New Jersey is a positive development for the sport. The parimutuel betting option is still not as good as fixed-odds betting. However, parimmutual bets are still more profitable than fixed ones. The second race Kingdom Queen paid $18.20 to win in pariutue, while a $2 fixed bet returned $32.00. In the fifth race Hushion paid $17. 20 in parimiutule wagering, with a fixed wager closing at $28.
Monmouth Park introduced fixed-odds betting. Monmouth and the track expect to expand it to mobile devices within months or weeks. Other tracks are expected to come on board. Heavy rains forced the cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled Opening Day. The weather dampened the turnout. The fixed odds betting has been commonplace for years in Australia and in the UK. It may take longer to add exotic bets to the ledger. Some horsemen are concerned that fixed Odds may cannibalize the parimutuel pool.
