Keeneland increases minimums on superfecta, pick three

Keeneland is increasing the minimum wager for its superfecta from 10 cents to 50 cents and increasing the minimum for its pick three bets from 50 cents to $1, effective at the beginning of this year’s spring meet on April 3, the track announced on Thursday.

The decision to increase the minimums on the two bets runs counter to the direction most tracks have taken over the past two decades to drive down minimums to encourage small bettors to participate in exotic pools or cut the costs of covering more combinations.

Jim Goodman, Keeneland’s director of wagering development, said on Friday that the decision to increase the superfecta minimum was intended to reduce the advantages that some computer-assisted wagering groups have demonstrated in the superfecta pool and restore higher payouts for the wager.

“They’re very successful at the superfecta, and we have the data to show that,” Goodman said. “And we think that’s because of the low minimum. It’s getting hit so much that we’ve basically diluted the payoff. So we think this is a way to give the everyday horseplayer a better way to approach the wager and get a higher payoff.”

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Goodman predicted that the new payouts will average more than five times the payouts of the superfecta with a 10-cent minimum because the CAW programs will cash less tickets under the higher minimum.

Nearly every racetrack in the country has adopted the 10-cent minimum for the superfecta bet.

“I know I’m going against the tide here, but we think we’re making it a smarter bet,” Goodman said. “I think it’s a good thing.”

Keeneland is also implementing a new late pick three with a $3 minimum linking the last three races of the day. The late pick three will have a takeout of 15 percent, compared to 19 percent on its other pick threes.

Keeneland has taken heat over the past several meets because the track has not placed restrictions on CAW play despite an outcry in the fall last year over late-odds changes. Most horseplayers believe that late-odds changes are almost entirely due to the impact of CAWs pouring their bets into the pools seconds before betting is closed.

Goodman said that the implementation of the late pick three was intended to alleviate some of those concerns.

“This is a very good way to reduce the effectiveness of the CAWs, by increasing the minimum and decreasing the takeout,” Goodman said. “You get them playing less

combinations with the minimum and you squeeze them on the rebate because the takeout is lower.”

Keeneland will also continue to offer a $3 Turf Pick 3 every day, linking three designated turf races on the card. That bet also has a 15 percent takeout, as does the daily pick five.

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