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Old 11-01-2006, 01:04 PM
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Dunbar Dunbar is offline
The Curragh
 
Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunbar
Yeah, it does annoy me when their odds don't add up. But a morning line shouldn't add to 1, IMO. It should attempt to reflect the betting odds, which means it should add to 119% for a 16% track take. (117.6% for a 15% track take). The lines in Equibase do exceed that, but sometimes not by that much. I just checked a few at AQ that are in the 122% range. In the past I've seen odds totals as high as 135% or worse.
However, there's another important point. A morning line odds has to represent a range of values. For example, the 1-1 on Bernardini represents everything from 1-1 up to, but not including, 6-5. The 6-1 on Lava Man covers everthing up to 7-1.

If you convert the given ML numbers for the Classic to probabilities and sum them, you get a whopping 131%, which would appear to reflect a 24% track hold. But if you take the mid-points of the odd range for each horse (use 1.1 to 1 for Bernardini, 6.5-1 for Lava Man, etc), and convert those odds to probabilities, it adds to 118%, which corresponds to the correct 16% track take!

--Dunbar
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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