WHAT IS “INSTANT RACING”?
Instant Racing is a pari-mutuel electronic system which allows players to wager on historic – that is, previously run – horse races.
Developed in 2000 by Oaklawn Park in association with AmTote, Inc. and other investors, Instant Racing marked the first effort by racing interests to merge the “fun and flash” of video gaming with the wagering excitement of horse racing.
The Instant Racing system is a series of true pari-mutuel terminals that offer wagering on more than 21,000 digitized videos of historic races. Instant Racing players are provided with a set of handicapping information for each race that they can use to select three horses they believe will finish in the top three in that race. The names of the horses and jockeys, the date the race was run and the track where the race was run are all kept hidden from the player until after they have made their selections.
Once a player has selected three horses and made an Instant Racing wager, the player may view a replay of the full race or an abbreviated replay of the “stretch run” of the race. Winning wagers are determined by successfully predicting the outcome of the historic horse race. Winners receive graduated payoffs by correctly selecting the first three finishers in the historic race in order, the first three in any order, the top two finishers, the winner or any two of the top three finishers.
All Instant Racing wagering is operated through a tote system that operates the same as the tote system used in all “live” horse racing. All Instant Racing wagers are aggregated by the tote system and assigned to their proper wagering pool. Winning payoffs are then distributed to the players who have successfully handicapped the historic horse race. In processing all wagers, the tote system carves out a percentage of the total amount wagered on the historic races to be retained by the operator, which is commonly referred to as “takeout.”
Wagering through Instant Racing terminals is pari-mutuel wagering because players wager against each other and do not wager against “the house”. As is the case with betting on “live” horse racing, the best Instant Racing handicappers will likely have an advantage over other players.
Instant Racing operates exactly the same as wagering on “live” horse racing except for two factors – the player does not know the date and location of the historic race and does not have access to the names of the horses and jockeys competing in the race. Every other feature of the Instant Racing terminal – beginning with a player being provided with handicapping information to having to make certain wagering decisions, interaction with a tote system, wagering against other patrons in a pari-mutuel pool and advantages potentially accruing to more skilled handicappers – operates exactly like traditional wagering on “live” horse racing.
Instant Racing Is Coming To Kentucky Downs!!!
What Instant Racing Will Mean To Kentucky’s Signature Industry.
Join Our Team. We're Hiring.
