The Dexter Cup is my new favorite stakes race. This has nothing to do with 2018 winner Lindy’s Big Bang and everything to do with the purse splits. For years I’ve been writing about how the elimination/final system that harness racing uses for the majority of its biggest events is flawed. This continues to be the case as often a field of 10 can go behind the gate to eliminate just one horse. The Dexter Cup, contested as the first stake for 3-year-old trotters each May at Freehold Raceway, does nothing to fix this issue, but a slight change in the payouts to those competing at least provides contestants more incentive to win . . . if only it went further. While most stakes races distribute purse money to the top five finishers on a 50%, 25%, 12%, 8% and 5% schedule (some races distribute 1% to all horses worse than fifth and then use the standard payouts), Freehold places more emphasis on winning the race and offers more minor rewards for those finishing third through fifth. The Dexter elimination distribution is 60%, 25%, 8%, 5%, 2%. The reward for making the cut in an elimination race should be making the final. Why are we rewarding 5% of the purse money to a horse which was raced easy and finished fifth so he can race for 10x or 20x next week with a full tank? Freehold is on the right track but I’d like to see a further step taken. My ideal payout is winner take all in an elimination, but I understand that probably won’t fly as owners look to make back some of their stakes payments in these races. So I’m willing to compromise with 75%, 20% and 5%. The thought here is simple. If we are going to offer these elimination races to the betting public, let’s make winning the race worth something substantial. That brings on another thing which the Dexter Cup does right. Often enough stakes elimination purses will be a small fraction of the final prize. The Breeders Crown offers $20,000 to $25,000 eliminations for finals that range from $250,000 to $600,000. The Meadowlands Pace eliminations go for $50,000 while the final ranges from $650,000 to $700,000. The Max Hempt offers a $25,000 elimination leading into a $500,000 final. So what is the benefit to winning an elimination? In some of these cases it is earning the right to a good post position. But what is a better motivator than cold hard cash? In the Dexter Cup 25% of the total available purse money goes to the elimination while the other 75% is offered in the final. In 2018, that meant a $44,600 elimination and a $133,800 final. The 25/75 ratio is perfect! It provides all players in an elimination with a clear monetary benefit to winning, equal to finishing second in the final if using my 75/20/5 elimination payout amounts. How often do you hear the connections of a horse say that they are probably racing for second money in a final? Now these owners have two chances to pick up that big check. It always removes the opportunity for heavy favorites to get an “easy” race leading up to a final, because everyone wants to win the purse money in the elimination now. That should lead to more interesting elimination races which in turn should attract more betting interest. Picture the Breeders Crown Open Trot, which currently offers a $500,000 final and a $25,000 elimination, with a $131,250 elimination and $393,750 final. Does having the final at $100,000 less in any way hurt the prestige of winning the Breeders Crown? Of course not. But we also benefit by a $131,250 elimination race which should be hotly contested, regardless of the number of entrants. Like it or not, elimination races aren’t going away anytime soon. They are far too often boring events that turn off the betting public. The above idea breathes a bit of life into those races.