On March 27 during the Hambletonian Society's annual Winter Meeting, the society's board of directors voted to strongly endorse the USTA Strategic Wagering project
. Yonkers Raceway today announced that it will also offer two guaranteed Pick 4 pools per week as part of the USTA program.
On April 4, the partnership between the Woodbine Entertainment Group and Central Ontario Standardbred Association announced that the early Pick 4 pools for Woodbine Racetrack's cards of live standardbred racing on Saturday nights in April (9, 16, 23, 30) will be guaranteed at $100,000.
Via release, the Hambletonian Society today stated that it applauds the success of the initial guaranteed pool efforts of Balmoral Racetrack and Northfield Park. Cal-Expo has also introduced its own Pick 4 guarantee.
“Guaranteed or seeded pools have proven to attract gamblers for whom pool size is everything,” said Hambletonian Society President Tom Charters. “A unified attempt to make the Pick-4 pools attractive deserves praise for all involved. The USTA directors are on the right track with this promotion.”
Beginning this Saturday (April 9) and continuing each Saturday and Monday at least through the end of the month, the late Pick 4 (Races 7 through 10) at Yonkers will come complete with a $15,000 guaranteed pool.
"We 're very happy to be a part of the USTA program," Yonkers GM Bob Galterio said. "We've attracted the best horses and drivers in our two ongoing series (George Morton Levy and Blue Chip Matchmaker) as well as our overnight races, and we've seen an increase in handle.
"The guaranteed Pick 4 has the potential for a big payout, and we invite all racing fans to take their best shot."
(With files from the Hambletonian Society, Yonkers and WEG)