Pick 5 is official

[kingoftherapids]

good job oaklawn. last 5 races.

[holeinthewall]

Wish it was first 5 but it will be bombs away on the payouts.  Hopefully the players around the country get behind this and get the pools up to 6 figures. They need to add something for the first race. It is usually a very bad betting race.  Any other changes?

Any idea if TVG will be showing Oaklawn more this year?  Baffles me why they show some of the tracks they do and ignore others.

[jdelo77]

They need a pick 3 starting in the first race ...

[kingoftherapids]

and rolling doubles

[heavylifting]

Going to take awhile for this bet to get traction in terms of dollars bet into the pools.

Opening day last year, the pools for the P4 were $56K and $80K. The Classix 6 was a measly $4,455. And that's with a big crowd with money burning holes in their pockets.

This year they're going to 14-horse fields. Going to be hard to eliminate horses from contention. You'll have to be able to single at least 2, maybe 3, races in order to make this affordable for most players. Once somebody does the math and sees that his/her bet is going to cost him/her $500, they'll abandon all thought of it.

Unless you can do dime bets. What's the minimum denomination? But even then, if all you're betting is dimes, how big will the pool be?

How is the track going to distribute when nobody has 5 correct? Will there be a carryover or will they pay the entire pool to the most correct? I ask because you know there will be days when nobody picks all 5, and when a 40-1 shot clicks in the first or second leg of the P5 and eliminates 90% of the live tickets, you want to have a bag with you to stuff with all the discarded tickets, just one of which might turn out to be a winner and worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Some jerk will lose in the first leg and toss his ticket, oblivious to the fact that there might be more longshots to come, some (all?) of which he might have.

Case in point -- March 3, 2016. The P4 ending in the 5th race paid $1,221.10 with just 3 correct needed to cash. Nobody had all 4. The winning odds were 6-1, 14-1, 39-1, 14-1.

And don't think there can't be a big explosion on opening day. That $56K pool last year yielded just one winner on a dollar ticket. Paid $44K on a sequence that included winners paying 33-1, 8-1, 9-2 and 38-1.

Shove a plastic bag into your pocket just in case and scoop up tickets when nobody is looking.

I hate to be the guy to piss into the punch bowl, but I don't think this wager is going to wow anybody unless Oaklawn heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) promotes it and offers a low takeout, like 10 percent or so.

I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see.

[jdelo77]

Will see a 14 horse field in these cheap claiming races ? I wouldn't think so but ,what do i know ...I was under the impression that the larger fields would be for maidens and the higher end allowance races...

[heavylifting]

The last 5 races?

The last race has (historically) often been a maiden claiming race, sometimes chock full of first-time starters.

How many people really want to take a stab at that?

And I pray that Oaklawn doesn't start moving the feature race (if it has "only" 5 or 6 horses) up to be the 3rd or 4th race on the card just to keep it out of the p5 sequence and goose the payoffs (or carryover, if that is applicable).

[kingoftherapids]

so far 12 is the max. the 13 and 14 listed are also eligibles. arkansas won't ever move the feature race up to an early race.

[holeinthewall]

Case in point -- March 3, 2016. The P4 ending in the 5th race paid $1,221.10 with just 3 correct needed to cash. Nobody had all 4. The winning odds were 6-1, 14-1, 39-1, 14-1.

I think that was the day I hit the first 2 and got blown up by the 39-1.   I would have taken 5-2 in the last 2 races

[userpick]

The pick 5 is becoming the most popular wager in racing because it has the most value. I think it will be a big hit.

[ghostzapper]

The pick 5 is becoming the most popular wager in racing because it has the most value. I think it will be a big hit.

Agreed. 

[holeinthewall]

The last 5 races?

The last race has (historically) often been a maiden claiming race, sometimes chock full of first-time starters.

How many people really want to take a stab at that?

And I pray that Oaklawn doesn't start moving the feature race (if it has "only" 5 or 6 horses) up to be the 3rd or 4th race on the card just to keep it out of the p5 sequence and goose the payoffs (or carryover, if that is applicable).

I actually like these races. Usually there is a clear cut 2nd time out horse, a horse that had an issue or an excuse you can key. if not I don't play any of the ones that have already run and try to spread out on horses with a nice work tab coming in with a gate work and a quick work if sprinting in the last 3 works.  I have gotten quite a few decent priced first timers using this logic as people will play bad looking returning horses for some reason. 

[jdelo77]

31 K for the first pick 5 payout ...DAMN !!!!!!!!!!!

[holeinthewall]

I can't find the P5 pool. The P4 pools were 53k and 69k   Nice pools.

[userpick]

I can't find the P5 pool. The P4 pools were 53k and 69k   Nice pools.

$39,000 for the pick 5. One winning ticket.

[jdelo77]

Someone had to go deep to find a few of those horses ...

[holeinthewall]

I had 4 of 5 yesterday. Missed on the 13 horse but I had the 7 that was dying in the stretch after being clear of 3rd place horse by 8 lengths in the stretch.. Would have still paid huge. 

[jdelo77]

I had the tri twice in 4th and the exacta in the 5th ...