Takeouts on exotic wagers have long been a concern for serious players, and management at the Meadowlands Racetrack has been proactive on the hot-button issue for an extended period of time, which has led to players walking away with far bigger payouts on some of the track’s most popular wagers.

One of the most impressive examples of lower takeout benefiting the player occurred on June 8, when a carryover created a huge pool of $208,763 in the track’s 50-Cent Pick-5. Two bettors held tickets with the correct combination of 5-2-6-2-6 and collected $72,149. Had the takeout been 25 per cent – instead of the low 15 per cent offered at the Big M – the payout would have been $63,661, meaning those players would have collected $8,488 less. Clearly, 15 per cent takeouts work for the bettor.

“Given the size of some of our more popular pools,” said ‘Big M’ COO/GM Jason Settlemoir. “Our players reap the benefits of low takeouts. During July, our 50-Cent Pick-4 pool averaged $107,143. The Pick-5 took in $72,379 nightly while the 20-Cent Can-Am Pick-4 averaged $46,808. All of these wagers – plus our 20-Cent Survivor Pick-10 – offer a low 15 per cent takeout, which puts more money in the horseplayer’s pocket.”

The differences between a takeout of 15 per cent and 25 per cent are considerable. If one were to cash a Pick-4 ticket at the Big M that pays $500, they would walk away with $59 more than if they had hit the same bet at a track that offered a 25 per cent takeout, where the payoff would be $449. Were if a $1,000 hit, they would walk away with an extra $118. A $10,000 score? That player would have an extra $1,177 to play with.

JUST 4 CARDS TO GO: The 2018-19 harness meeting at the Meadowlands has only four programs left. The first three will be conducted on Friday, July 26, Saturday, July 27 and Friday, August 2 with a post time of 7:15 p.m.

The final card of the meeting will take place on Hambletonian Day, Saturday, August 3, and has a post time of noon.

(With files from the Meadowlands Racetrack)