Balmoral Park will kick off Derby week with a pair of guaranteed pools this Wednesday.
A large one-day Pick 5 carryover of $7,665 will kick off the action on the first race of the night. The popular 50-cent Pick 5 wager is offered Wednesdays on Races 1 through 5. The USTA and Balmoral Park have created a $40,000 instant guaranteed pool on the Wednesday Pick 5. Post time for the first race is 8:10 Eastern, 7:10 Central and 5:10 Pacific.
Balmoral will also offer a $10,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 pool on Wednesday. The Pick 4 has a one-dollar minimum and a low 15 per cent takeout. The Pick Four pools in 2013 averaged $32,254, an increase of almost $24,000 a night since the takeout was reduced by 40 per cent. The average one-dollar payout in 2013 was $2,441.60. Balmoral Park offers a Guaranteed Pick 4 wager every night with free program pages and a 15 per cent takeout. The Wednesday Pick Four starts on Race 6, immediately after the conclusion of the Pick Five wager.
Big payoffs highlighted the action this weekend. The original ten-cent High Five, the ultimate ‘get out bet’ is offered on the final race of the night. Saturday night, one lucky patron took down the entire pool and won $19,772.29 for a dime. Saturday handle was $1,043,291, a strong barometer considering it was opening night at Churchill Downs and many track handles in the country were down significantly.
Balmoral Park continues to offer some of the biggest pools in harness racing. Through April 22, the Balmoral handle is averaging $1,020,297 per night in 2014. The handle breaks down to $87,681 per race, easily the second largest in the United States behind the sports flagship track, the Meadowlands Racetrack.
(Balmoral)