Keeneland to offer fractional wagering

Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., will give ontrack players the ability to make bets in fractions of the minimum, the track announced on Thursday.

Under the system, bettors will be able to place a wager at denominations of their choosing, as long as it exceeds the minimum bet. For example, a bettor wanting to place a trifecta bet at the Keeneland spring meet could place a bet at an 80-cent denomination, since the minimum for trifectas is 50 cents, Keeneland said in a release.

The mimimum bets at Keeneland are $2 for win, place and show; $1 for exactas, doubles, and the super high five; 10 cents for superfectas; and 50 cents for trifectas, pick threes, pick fours, and pick fives.

The concept borrows heavily from fractional betting systems that are already extremely popular in Australia. In that country, bettors can place any bet at any fraction. For example, a bettor in Australia can bet a pick six ticket with hundreds of combinations at any price, even, for example, at $4.87.

Representatives of Keeneland’s mutuel department had not returned a phone call by Thursday afternoon, so it was unclear if bettors would be able to place bets on a one-cent fraction, such as a 51-cent trifecta or a 13-cent superfecta.