NYRA Grand Slam bet
 

I know this is a gimmick bet, but I really like this. Since I have not placed a show wager in over 20 years thanks to exactas and trifectas offered on every race. How come this wager has not taken off to the point it's offered at other tracks.

BTW, I get great prices on this bet when racing is at Saratoga. I had a few GS payouts over $600 two years ago.

Parlay three show bets into a win bet is great fun for not a lot of money invested. Normally bet $18 to $36 per ticket.

Are you serious? Everyone knows it wasn't until the mid 1980's when the exotics was being offered on the full card.

I still remember when exactas was only offered on select races. And you only had a Daily Double offered on the first two races and last two races.

(First of all, he's rarely serious..)

Like you, I thought Bill Nader's Grand Slam was a pleasant concept that had the chance to catch on given it was designed as an inexpensive way to introduce players to multi-race wagering. It still has a chance to work but needs to be marketed more cleverly and aggressively.

I don't think it has caught on because the payout is not great unless you really beat the favorites. Plus it is a cheap ticket to play so the pool doesn't get very high. I occasionally play it but only if I have a strong oppinion against the favorites in the last 2 legs. I will play $5 or $10 ticket 1x1X1X2 if I'm against the chalk late.

I took a 2nd timer to the track when it was new and she tried the bet with a few horses who's names she liked, and my non favorite in race 8. rolleyes: Turned out she had it 5 times and when she saw the payout as about $30 she was pleased, when they gave her about $150 she thought they were overpaying her.
If you have reason to think that races 5-7 could be "chaos races" (as turf MDCL's often are) it's sometimes worth it to toss in some horses that could hit the board, along with the more obvious runners.

Steve great point about it not being pushed hard from NYRA. Today I hit the grand slam on three $1 payouts and collected $618.75 on a $30 bet. The reason I like this bet is because I bet longshots and most of the time they get nailed on the wire for the win or barely get up for 3rd. So, I figure in most case why not play this bet.

Footnote; race #5 at Belmont today even though I had the win, exacta and trifecta. I cannot believe the results stood without #3 Dear Marylou coming down. I was pissing and moaning when I saw the inquiry and I must admit that was a pretty severe infraction.

The problem with the bet is longshots are not worth any more than favorites. If your smart 20-1 runs 2nd, but the 1/5 shot clunks up for 3rd, you don't have an edge.

Glad you made a nice hit today- but I stand by my belief that the bet sucks.

It's 15 minutes from post 8, the best I am going to get is one $2 grandslam. I have in race 8 the following horses 3,8,9 race 9 I have the following horses to win in 1,4,5 and 7. since the chalk finished off the board in the previous two races let me see if I can bring it home!

I dont know if its the same at other tracks but you cant make the bet on grand slam thru calder or gulfstream

Of course you're right about this, but this isn't the thinking that would lead someone to necessarily play the bet. You look for a race in the sequence where you think a favorite, especially a reasonably heavy one, is extremely vulnerable, as if you can get that horse off the board, you rate to get, say, 6:1 to 10:1 for that race. Obviously that's easier said than done, but you do have to add in the insurance that you can still cash should you use a horse that hits the board and the favorite also runs in.

Just requires some creative thinking, but as the concept is designed to lure neophyte or trepidacious players to multi-race wagering, it has to involve some education and incentive...

Maybe an instructional video on the website... and a simple short version that can run a couple times a day during the raceday broadcast?

How about at Saratoga, dressing up roving educators in 'Grand Slam' baseball jerseys with instructional 'Grand Slam' scratch-off game/brochures that teach people the bet and all win some simple promotional prize that promotes and educates...

There's ways to get people interested remembering the whole time that ultimately, you're trying to get these people into the Grand Slam as a means to them betting P3's, P4's and perhaps even P6's eventually.

This is the one time I think it's a worthwhile wager- almost like laying a heavy favorite. I know a lot of people that really like the bet, that don't approach it this way- they see it as a cheap way to get 4 races of action (which was the initial idea of the bet, I think). A very smart friend of mine plays it just about every day and does well with it. Just not my cup of tea because of the equal weighting.

Place pick-all's also have this problem to me.

Would Tina be considered a "roving educator"?

I think after the amount it takes to get a good bet down, this bet does get you to be more creative when you are basically taking a three race parlay show into a win bet in the feature race.

I bet this through twins spires. Except for when I go to a live track, it's through the computer and watching the races on HRTV or TVG (I keep the volume off until the race is run on that channel).

A footnote; When I bet the grand slam, I combinate my bets by playing exactas, daily doubles and tri's and a few win bets on horses I really like over 6-1.

She needs to prove she can do a better job educating Steve first.

Or $2 grand slam vouchers at all New York Denny's with the purchase of a grand slam.