THE VALUE OF WAGER REWARDS PROGRAMS

TVG offers horseplayers a wide variety of rewards and promotions, and players should make every effort to opt in and take advantage of those that are associated with the track(s) they wager on most frequently. 

Some of the promotions are selection contests. Others are increased payouts such as a 10% bonus on winning exacta payouts from specified tracks. But in my opinion, one of the best TVG offers is the ‘Money Back Special.’ 

The Money Back promotion gives players a refund when their win bet selection runs second or third. Sometimes this promotion is offered on a feature race, but recently TVG made this promotion available on select races at the recently concluded five-day Kentucky Downs meet. This was a chance to use this promotion throughout an entire meet, and perfectly demonstrated the opportunity these kinds of promotions offer.

The rules for the Kentucky Downs Money Back offer were simple:

– Players had to opt in first for the promotion at TVG.com

– Once opted in, the first win bet of up to $10 on an eligible Money Back Special Kentucky Downs race was refunded if the horse you selected ran second or third.

– If the race had fewer than eight starters, refunds were allowed for second place only.

– No refund was offered for fields with less than six betting entries.

Kentucky Downs was the perfect meet for this promotion because nearly every race for the 50-race meet was booked with a full starting gate of 12 starters and four also-eligibles (all but one race qualified for the full place & show refund).

I decided to make an effort to take full advantage of this offer, making sure the first bet I made on any race was a $10 win bet on a single entry. Over the five-day meet, here’s a synopsis of my results:

• I bet 45 races, a $450 investment.
• In nine races, my horse won, for winnings totaling $588 (20% hit rate, $138 profit and a +131% return on investment).
• In 10 races, my horse ran second or third, so I recouped $10 win wagers ten times for $100.
• So for a total of $450 bet, I netted $688, meaning the promotion increased my profit to $238 and my ROI to +153%.
• In 26 races, my horse ran fourth or worse, including eight fourth place finishes — so I was close to qualifying for eight additional refunds on wagers that did not win.

Obviously, this promotion was a big help to my bottom line.

There are several theories on what type of selections work best with this Money Back offer.  Some believe it is best used when betting on favorites which are very likely to finish third or better. Others think the offer is a good way to back longshots, with a full refund if the longshot is a near-miss. The fact is this refund is always a good way to have ‘insurance’ on any contender you think can win. Win bets are best used to back well regarded contenders. If you like a horse enough to bet it to win, regardless of odds, this is a very good promotion to get a refund on your near misses. But whether you prefer playing favorites or longshots, this is one promotion that you should not pass up!

Requirements to play Money Back Special Promotion:

• Be a TVG account holder.
• Opt in at TVG.com when Money Back promotions are offered on the tracks you wager on.
• Thoroughly read the offers to understand any limitations.
• Incorporate the offer into your betting strategy, making sure you maximize your advantages as part of your overall play.

 

Be sure to check out Dean Arnold’s handicapping book, A Bettor Way, on sale now through Amazon.

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