Woodbine raises Breeders' Cup takeout rates

Bettors in Canada wagering on the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland Racecourse in Kentucky on Friday and Saturday will face significantly higher takeouts and receive significantly lower payouts than other North American bettors due to a decision by Woodbine Entertainment Group to raise the takeout rates on most of the betting pools.

Late Friday, Woodbine officials said they raised the rates to make up for an anticipated shortfall in revenue, due in part to a new revenue-sharing model introduced by the Breeders’ Cup this year and in part to Keeneland’s low takeout rates. At Keeneland, win, place, and show bets are raked at 16 percent, while all other bets are raked at 19 percent. Combined, the effective takeout rate is one of the lowest in the country.

Sean Pinsonneault, Woodbine’s chief operating officer, said Woodbine took no joy in adjusting the rates upward but said the racing association currently is “underwater” even at the adjusted takeout rates for the two Breeders’ Cup cards. He contended an effort by signal providers to raise rates has put a strain on the revenues the racing company receives.

“There’s not much margin in there anymore,” Pinsonneault said. “This [Breeders’ Cup contract] just happens to be the tipping point. It’s safe to say that the model is broken. That is the reality we are facing.”

While win bets still will be raked at 16 percent and pick six bets will have a 19 percent takeout, place and show bets will have an 18 percent takeout. Exactas, daily doubles, pick fours, pick fives, and the Super Hi-5 will have a takeout rate of 20 percent. Trifectas, superfectas, and pick threes will have a takeout of 27 percent.

Woodbine already had adjusted its rates to deal with Keeneland’s low takeout rates and the track’s efforts to extract higher signal fees. The takeout on trifectas, superfectas, and pick threes already had been raised to 25 percent at the track’s fall meet, which began Oct. 2.

The higher takeouts will affect any bettor wagering through any of Woodbine’s operations, including its off-track betting sites and its account-wagering platform.

The announcement of the increased takeout rates drew a sharp rebuke from the Horseplayers Association of North America, a group whose members include handicappers.

“These are policies that are driving more horseplayers to other games of skill, further eroding horse racing’s betting customer base and hurting the entire industry,” said Jeff Platt, president of the organization.