Mutuals: Segment - 9

.
Separate Pool Wagering

At one time, separate pool wagering was the industry standard, but now it has become a rare practice in the pari-mutuel industry.
Separate pool wagering is the equivalent of the Guest conducting its own live race-wagering event. The Guest receives the live video signal of the race(s) from the Host, but there is no interaction with the Host's mutuel/tote operation. Wagers made on those races at Guest sites will be maintained separately from the Host's wagering pools, and prices will be calculated in accordance with the wagering regulations of the Guest jurisdiction. The Guest will calculate prices based only on the aggregate wagers sold through its own system and will not be affected by the payoffs at the Host site.

There are two methods of accommodating a separate pool simulcast into your racing program:

• It can be scheduled and numbered as a race in the Guest's program and be
wagered on as if it is one of the Guest's live races. It should be noted that if the
Host was to delay the running of the race for some reason, it could cause that race
to be run out of order on the Guest's card.
• It can be designated as a separate wagering program, keeping the Host track race
number separate from the Guest's live race schedule. Because the race's original
number is left intact, it is possible to have three races on one card with the same
race number (9th from Belmont, 9th from Arlington, and 9th from the Host track).
Some tote systems' defaults automatically put the track name on the ticket to
identify the race; make sure your tote operator sets up a separate race program
and titles each of the races with specific details on the ticket identifying the Host
being wagered on.
A. Displaying Host Track Odds
In separate pool simulcasting, the betting odds at the Guest site reflect the betting of its own network customers and are different from those at the Host site via the video feed.
On the other hand, more sophisticated handicappers may wish to view the odds at the Host site to see and respond to betting patterns at the Host track. If the Host odds are shown, the Guest site should somehow indicate, perhaps by using a crawl, these odds are being shown for informational purposes only and are not the true odds at the Guest facility.

B. Importance of Pool Size
The most important factor in choosing between separate and merged pools is the difference in the size of those pools. Can separate pool wagering offer patrons the opportunity to wager as much as with a merged pool without creating substantially lower odds/payoffs? Much of the growth of simulcasting has been fueled by the wagering opportunities opened to small market bettors through the introduction of much larger merged pools.
It can be argued racing fans have responded more to the wagering opportunities associated with larger pools than to any increase in the quality of races presented through simulcasting. Some tracks have found a disproportionate share of their handle has moved from live races to simulcasts simply because of the larger pools.
.