The experience from June 30th this year at the Irish Derby (G1) at the Curragh, as well as the continued dismal performance of pari-mutuel betting in North America, only reinforces my belief that horse racing is missing its best opportunity in many years to attract more people to the sport by not fully embracing fixed odds betting.
Let me explain.
I was lucky enough to spend a day off as a fan at a major Irish race day, and when I ventured into the area next to the racecourse where the bookmakers were based, it was fun to shop around for the best prices on the horses I was interested in. And the bookmakers went to great lengths to let fans know about those prices, quickly spotting if they were offering the best price on one of the favourites and shouting it out to everyone.
A point here or a half-point there adds little satisfaction to the handicapping process. If you’re not a horse-racing bettor, it’s akin to finding a better price on a product you’ve been wanting for a while. In fixed-odds betting, the odds are set at the time of purchase. In pari-mutuel betting, the odds fluctuate until the entire pool has been settled—usually when the gates open, meaning the final spread sheet for that pool won’t be available until the race starts.
I should mention that pari-mutuel betting is available on the Curragh on June 30, on the World Pool, which also offers some interesting possibilities. The point is: it’s nice to have a choice.
I can’t help but reimagine how fixed odds betting might play out in North America on mobile and internet platforms and social media, with bettors not only talking about horses but also discussing where to find the best odds to bet on. Like bookmakers shouting prices at the track, these platforms would spread the word and in doing so, help promote the sport to many new legal sports bettors in the United States.
Fixed odds betting, which must be conducted under an agreement that will deposit money into the purse and the track, will help rejuvenate betting on horses to win and will not negatively impact pari-mutuel bets such as Pick 4, Pick 5 and Pick 6 which horse racing has had some marketing success with. If anything, as new players are introduced to the sport through fixed odds betting, they will gain confidence and try more complex bets.
So, with only a handful of states joining the fixed-odds party, pari-mutuel betting continues to decline or remain flat. Despite record betting levels on the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (in a year when no Triple Crown was included), betting on U.S. horse racing in the second quarter was down 0.45%. And that was in a quarter where race days were virtually identical, 1,036 this year compared to 1,039 last year.
For the year, handles are down 2.05% compared to the first six months of 2023. Barring a change, this would be the third straight year of handles falling since 2021, when racing saw a COVID-induced surge. While handles are an imperfect economic indicator, the drop does, to some extent, reflect new players giving the sport a chance in the COVID-delayed years.
Horse racing needs to consider that one reason these players are not retained is the betting experience. Consider each of the experiences offered. High-stakes sports bettors have learned to shop around to different sites and find the best odds. They then lock in a price they are happy with and then watch the results. These players take part in a pari-mutuel game, where they can bet on a horse at 3-1 odds and win, but then the odds actually only come back at 2-1. In these examples, the pari-mutuel experience is almost like losing—even if the player wins—when compared to the fixed-odds model.
That 2021 push was powered by sports fans/bettors looking for an escape. Why not tap back into that group with a form of betting—fixed odds betting—that they can easily understand?
