Will harness racing become the safest prop bet wager? You bet!

In a recent Mane Attraction column arguing the need for a Commissioner in our sport, a top Steward in racing—both thoroughbred and standardbred—was quoted as saying “Stewards at any track make less wrong decisions in their careers than NFL officials make on any weekend!”

Some comments came in that opens the door even wider for the “argument” for implementing “prop” betting on our sport.

The Charlie May case is a one-in-a-million case for prop betting and is insignificant for this situation because of its rarity.

When the licensed, professional judges or stewards make a decision on a race after an inquiry (or objection), the outcome will affect the bettors involved. It always involves the same amount of money distributed in the “net” pari-mutuel pools but the number of “punters” affected depends on the particular odds of each horse.

If a winning horse is, say, 8 to 5 in the betting and is DQ’d moving a 15 to 1 shot to the top spot, more BETTORS will suffer the loss of cashing a ticket than if the opposite occurs and the 15 to 1 shot is elevated to first.

Of course, owners, trainers and drivers will be affected, too, but we’re talkin’ patrons here—the “mane attraction” that draws people to our sport in the first place—BETTING!

It’s the same money involved only a different form of distribution.

With each decision, some folks will be happy and a bit richer and…some will be a bit sadder and have the same money they had after placing their $2 or $20 wager!

Judges and stewards can look at things through many lenses and camera angles and can give an unbiased judgement on things to give all sides a fair shake—THAT’S RACING! Judges realize that it would be rare if one driver “tattles” on another.
THAT’S RACING!

And it’s a lot better and accurate than any other sport!

For those of you who love baseball, there are so many prop bets that will “make your head spin!”

Among the most popular props are “Over-Under” bets like (1), home runs for a player; (2), hits by a player; (3) RBIs by a players; (4) doubles by a player; (5) strikeouts by a pitcher; and (6) how may outs a starting pitcher will record.

Boston University researchers did a study a while ago that showed baseball umpires missed 34,294 ball-strike calls during a season. Some may have ended a game but none were sent to the commissioner or courts for review or overturning. That’s just part of baseball. And, yes, there are prop bets on balls and strikes!!!

And what about the mistakes on the base paths?

There were 1,352 play call challenges, over 50% were overturned (50.74% to be precise).

In pro-football, how can a referee accurately spot a football after a play? Talk about an imperfect science…and just how do those spots affect someone who has a prop on “first downs or rushing yards?”

There’s no doubt that refs make errors—and some are challenged—but they, also, cannot hold a candle in accuracy to our judges and stewards.

By the way, I don’t notice any judges or stewards in another type of popular racing—AUTO RACING—when there is any inquiry after an incident on the track—and there is plenty of prop betting on that sport from win bets to match-up bets to stage leaders.

There are even PODIUM bets (Top 3), Top 6 finish and winning margin bets. Why, they even have future bets on big races.

There are hundreds of them!

In football, among the most popular prop bets are (1) first touchdown scorer, (2) anytime touchdown scorer, (3) total receiving yards by a player, (4) total rushing odds by a players, {5) total receptions by a player, (6) total passing yards by a player.

Of course, there are those involving field goals, extra points, a safety, the total score…again, there are 100 or more…maybe even a streaker on the field? (Yes, there are crazier ones than that!)

And when something strange or crazy happens on prop bets—like Mattress Mack’s big hit or the big “Octopus” score or the $5 prop bet that ruined into $75,000, the headlines on that sport flow like running water.

One day, soon, I hope, harness racing bettors may have DAILY “prop” bets similar to those examples shown below…

Aaron Merriman wins (+3.5 races); any dead-heats for win; any dead-heats for any position; any disqualifications at any track; any mile at Hoosier Park under 1:49; Dean Magee winning at Aces (+2.5); Scioto Downs Daily Double pays over-under $48.00; a horse winning from post 7 or 8 at Yonkers; any Meadowlands mile under 1:47; How many times will the photo finish signs go up for win at The Meadowlands tonight (4 1/2), etc.

EVERY TRACK would have a list of prop bets for the hearty bettor to kill the drag between races.

And looking further…How about a future line on the Pepsi Million with 86 nominations, the Canadian Trotting Classic with 70 horses nominated (some of which might be 100 to
1 or more), and so many others like the MGM Borgata (37 entries) and you might see 8 to 1 on Tattoo Artist or Jimmy Freight on the early list!!!!!!!!!

There are a hundred or more from The Hambletonian and Little Brown Jug to the Nat Ray and Roll With Joe (yes, I admit I have a problem dismissing our history so easily, while still being able to list the Cashman in there somewhere and honor the great Dave Brower and his well-deserved everlasting contributions and memory.)

Let’s get some headlines for our sport!!! Ut’s about time!!!

Yes, the safest and least controversial prop bets could be found in harness racing and, make no mistake about it, the judges and stewards perched in the booths high above the action have the have an unbiased view and tools to make the most accurate decisions in ALL of sport.

by John Berry, for Harnesslink