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New Fixed Odds Offerings From DraftKings

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 03 August 2019

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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During this year’s Haskell Invitational, the director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings, Johnny Avello, rolled out an intriguing horse racing product. The New Jersey’s signature event was used as a springboard for the new fixed odds platform of DraftKings and is expected to attract local NJ and NY sportsbook players to try DraftKings. As a veteran sportsbook manager, Avello has over four decades of experience dealing with thoroughbred racing. Having the safety of the thoroughbreds in mind, the official at Monmouth Park delayed the race card for over four hours, pushing into prime time the beginning of the Grade 1 $1 million TVG.com Haskell Invitational.

Despite the lengthy delay, DraftKings accepted fixed odds wagering for five races of the July 20 slate. Their initial foray on the scene of horse racing was looking good and for the Haskell, DraftKings had head-to-head wagers on individual horses and fixed odds for win bets.

We wanted to offer our customers racing which we hadn’t before, so I would call it a success for the first time doing it.

said Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ director of sportsbook operation.

I was pleased with the overall handle and the handle on both the matchups and the fixed odds side.

he also stated.

These results might bode well for the future of fixed odds wagering over the legal U.S. Markets.

Fixed odds betting has been a staple of European racing for many years, as it gives bettors the option to lock into a price way before post time. While in pari-mutuel wagering the odds can fluctuate wildly, the fixed odds system allows bettors to determine the expected payout upon making the wager. During last Saturday’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot the Breeders Cup Turf champion Enable was defending the title and headlined the field at fixed odds of 8/13. Enable’s main rival Crystal Ocean opened as a second choice at 4/1. Had this race taken place in the US under the pari-mutuel format, these odds could have fallen greatly from the morning line price. This means that during classic races in the US a last-moment six-figure bet can cause the odds of any horse to fall dramatically, as was the case at the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Back then, a large bet on Candy Boy plummeted his odds from 16/1 to 9/1 just as the horses entered into the gate.

Avello says that this substantial drop can be too unsettling when so much money is in the pool, which is why some Europeans prefer to only go for fixed odds wagering, where the money does not go all into one. This, he believes, gives the advantage to the sharp bettors. Things got interesting as the fixed odds Avello set before the Haskell ended up being almost identical to the post-time prices for some of the entrants. Mucho Gusto was outdueled by Maximum Security for a 1 1/4 length victory. Prior to the race for the Haskell winner, the 4/5 odds were very close to DraftKings’ own fixed odds on Maximum Security. The race’s second-choice, King For A Day and Mucho Gusto also ended up at prices similar to their initial odds.

There was a greater disparity in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher. Coach Rocks was easily taken by Midnight Bisou at a one-length win over. Here, Avello gave Midnight Bisou 2/5, which was considerably above the eventual payout of $2.10 to win.

There was some value there for the customers.

Avello said.

In the near future, DraftKings could take fixed odds bets on August 3 for The Meadowlands major harness race – The Hambletonian Stakes. Even though DraftKings’ ultimate goal may not be to establish fixed odds for daily racing, Avello mentioned that it is a suitable option until the company gets regulatory approval for its pari-mutuel license.