Balmoral Park will once again offer four guaranteed pools this weekend. A one-day Pick 5 carryover of $9,429 will kick off the action on Saturday night
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The popular 50 cent Pick 5 wager is offered on races two through six. The USTA and Balmoral Park have created a $40,000 instand guaranteed pool on the Saturday Pick 5. Post time for the second race is 8:30 Eastern, 7:30 Central and 5:30 Pacific. Through April 20, the average wagered on 45 guaranteed Pick 5 pools at Balmoral Park is $21.091 a night. The average 50 cent payout is $3,839.17.
The Saturday and Sunday programs are loaded with 10-horse fields. A total of 221 horses are scheduled to compete in 23 races for an average of over 9.61 horses per race. Two Saturday cards in April have handled $2,718,773 for a nightly average of $1,359,386 and a Saturday average of $104,568 per race.
Sunday night racing at Balmoral with two guaranteed pools produced great results for the Illinois track as well. The two Sunday cards in April handled $2,459,218 for only 20 races. The Sunday averages were $1,229,609 per night for a sensational average of $122,960 wagered per race. Two trifecta pools surpassed $50,000 last weekend.
Balmoral will also offer a $20,000 guaranteed Pick 4 pool on Saturday. The Pick 4 has a $1 minimum. The Saturday Pick 4 pools in April are averaging more than $30,000. Balmoral offers a guaranteed Pick 4 wager every night with free program pages and a 15 per cent takeout. Through April 9, the average $1 payout is $2,883.87. The average Pick 4 pool in 2012 was a record $32,276.
Sunday April 15, Balmoral Park raised their two Sunday guarantees by $5,000 each. The Balmoral 50 cent Pick 5 now has a guarantee of $15,000 every Sunday. The Sunday Pick 4 now offers a low takeout of 15 per cent and a $30,000 guaranteed pool. Last Sunday the pool was $41,166. The Wednesday and Saturday Pick 4 guarantees remain at $20,000 with the same 15 per cent takeout. Balmoral Park currently has the lowest percentage of winning favourites in the country at 34 per cent.
Handicappers across North America can get a head start on their competition with free 12 line program pages for the guaranteed pools immediately courtesy of the USTA and TrackMaster on the handicapping section at www.ustrotting.com.
(Balmoral Park)