Canterbury Park Wants You to Take In This Low Takeout Pick 4

Canterbury Park announced it will add a “Post Time Pick 4” wager that features the lowest takeout of any North American track – 10%.

To put this into perspective, the average takeout on a multi-race wager is 22%, according to TwinSpires. That means 22 cents out of every dollar bet goes to the track before payout.

Canterbury Park’s Post Time Pick 4 begins when the suburban Minneapolis track opens its 65-day meet May 18. The 50-cent minimum wager starts on the day’s first race each day.

Along with that, Canterbury Park officials said the 50-cent Pick 5 with its 10% takeout returns. That too, is the lowest takeout for that wager in the country.

Canterbury Park took in record handle in 2021

“The pick five has bene a success the past two seasons, drawing attention to the Canterbury Park racing product, resulting in additional play outside of the pick five pool,” Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Andrew Offerman said in a statement.

Canterbury Park enjoyed an 8.4% bump in average daily handle last year. That came on the heels of a 110% increase during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. This explains how the track took in a record $90.9 million handle in 2021.

Offerman said the new Post Time Pick 4 serves a couple of purposes that may not be obvious. But it does illustrate a forward-thinking MO that other tracks – especially those fighting declining numbers – could emulate. Takeout is the eternal enemy of horseplayers, cutting into payouts more than many bettors realize.

Accessible Pick 4 replaces disappointing Pick 6

“The extremely low takeout of the Post Time Pick 4 will be popular with the wagering public” he said. “It also serves the purpose of calling attention to our start time, which falls into a more competitive time slot based on our 2022 calendar.”

Canterbury Park races four days a week: Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings starting at 5 p.m. CT and Sundays at 1 p.m.

At the same time, the Post Time Pick 4 replaces the track’s 10% takeout $1 Pick Six. That wager, introduced last year, underperformed expectations. It accounted for only 0.6% of total handle. The Post Time Pick 4 is a more user-friendly, financially easier wager for horseplayers.