Expanded wagering set to start
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs will have an expanded wagering menu when the 2014 live meeting begins Jan. 10.
An expected request by Oaklawn to add more exotic wagers, including three additional pick-3s, was approved unanimously by the Arkansas Racing Commission during a teleconference Thursday morning.
Commissioner Mark Lamberth of Batesville, also a horse owner, praised Oaklawn’s move, which coincides with the track’s new advance deposit wagering site, OaklawnAnywhere.
“I think these are terrific … well done,” Lamberth said before the vote.
Oaklawn is scheduled to offer superfecta wagering on all races in 2014. Superfectasrequire bettors to select the top four finishers in order.
Oaklawn offered only superfectas on the fourth, sixth and last two races to begin the 2013 season.
Oaklawn will offer rolling pick-3s, beginning with the second race, in 2014. Pick-3s require bettors to select the winners of three races, normally in sequential order.
Oaklawn also will offer an early pick-4, beginning with the second race, in 2014. Oaklawn had previously offered a pick-4 on the card’s final four races.
Pick-4s require bettors to select the winners of four consecutive races.
Oaklawn will continue to offer win, place and show wagering on all races, trifectas on all races, an early and late daily double and the CLASSIX (races 3-8).
The CLASSIX is Oaklawn’s version of the pick-6.
ADW update
Oaklawn officials said they hope to launch the track’s new advance deposit wagering site,OaklawnAnywhere, the week after Christmas.
The Arkansas Racing Commission adopted advance deposit wagering regulations Nov. 21 and unanimously approved terms and conditions for opening an account during a teleconference Thursday morning.
ADW is a form of betting in which a player must fund an account before being allowed to place a bet.
Oaklawn General Manager Eric Jackson told the commission that Oaklawn wants to launch the site this month, but cautioned it is still in a fluid state and the track’s No. 1 priority is to protect the customer.
“We’re still working through some technical issues, so it’s a moving target, but that is our plan right now,” Jackson said. “As technical issues go, that could change the plan drastically.”
ADW wagering, as part of Act 350, was initially approved during the 2013 legislative session and allowed Oaklawn to launch an ADW betting platform,which would mirror mainstream national sites like Xpressbet and TwinSpires.
OaklawnAnywhere will be available only to Arkansas residents, but wagers can be made from out of state. The minimum age to open an account is 18.
Live video streaming of races will be available to active account holders.
“If you’re a $2 bettor, you’re in,” Bobby Geiger, Oaklawn’s director of gaming and wagering, told the commission.
Geiger told the commission that Oaklawn had the option to make the site available to residents outside Arkansas, but economics dictated the present setup.
“If you are a national ADW, you pay much higher fees for the content, for the product you’re going to offer,” Geiger said. “We took a look at it and realized that our primary market would be Arkansas, and paying the extra cost to go national and compete with TwinSpires, TVG, Xpressbet … we’re 10 years behind being inthat arena. We want to be Arkansas’ ADW.”
Oaklawn attorney Skip Ebel of Little Rock told the commission that Oaklawn may “revisit” the issue “down the road” if it becomes more economically feasible.
Jackson told the commission that Oaklawn has partnered with local horsemen on the project, which is another reason why the ADW site will only be initially available to Arkansas residents.
Revenue generated from ADW wagering can be used to boost purses.
Final furlong
There were 1,001 horses on the grounds early Saturday afternoon.
… There was no training Saturday morning following heavy rainfall. … The track will be closed for training Wednesday in observance of Christmas. … Probable 3-year-old male champion Will Take Charge, owned by Willis Horton of Marshall, worked a half-mile in :49.40 on Wednesday.
Sports, Pages 35 on 12/22/2013