Rules & Regulations

GENERAL​​

All pari-mutuel pools are calculated and distributed in accordance with the regulations and directives as issued by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (“the Regulations”), under the approval and supervision of the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency.  The Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency can be contacted at 1-800-268-8835 or 613-759-6100 or Email: aafc.cpmawebacpm.aac@canada.ca. A complete version of the CPMA regulations can be found at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-91-365/

All tickets should be held until the result of the race is declared official and prices are posted.

No person under the age of 18 shall purchase or cash a ticket or voucher.

A claim of receiving an incorrect payment or incorrect change must be made to the Mutuel office of the association within twenty four hours of buying or cashing a valid ticket or voucher.

No ruling made by the Stewards/Judges or the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario with regard to distribution of purse money or the placing of horses in the order of finish, after the race has been declared official, shall have any bearing on the pay-out prices or distribution of pari-mutuel pools.

Change boards and Photo Finish display monitors are located in the Grandstand. In addition, Photo Finish pictures are shown on the closed-circuit television system. Customers are reminded that mutuel clerks are responsible for all shortages. When making a wager, customers must present sufficient funds at the time of purchase to cover the wagers requested.

ENTRIES AND MUTUEL FIELDS

“Entry” means two or more horses in the same race which, for the purpose of pari-mutuel betting, are coupled or considered as the same betting interest. The most common reason for the coupling of horses in an Entry is the fact that they are owned by the same person.

DAILY DOUBLE BETTING (INCLUDING LATE DOUBLE)

A Daily Double bet is a betting transaction in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the official winners of each of the two races specified for the Daily Double. Tickets not selecting the winner of the first half of the Daily Double and all tickets in the second half of the Daily Double not coupled with the declared official winner of the first half of the Daily Double are not winners and are not refunded no matter what circumstances affect the running of the second half of the Daily Double.

Should a horse or horses (not coupled with another starter) be excused from starting in the second race of the Daily Double after the first race of the Daily Double has closed for betting, holders of all Daily Double tickets on such horses, coupled with the winner of the first Daily Double race, shall participate in a Consolation Double pool. (Effective Jan 1)

EXACTA (Also known as Exactor)/TRIFETA (Also known as Triactor)/SUPERFECTA

An Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta is a betting transaction in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the first two, three and four horses respectively, representing different betting interests to finish in the exact official order of finish, in the race on which the pool is operated. The above stated pools on races that have an entry (i.e. 1 & 1A and/or 2 & 2B) will not offer a wager combining both halves of the same betting interest. Example: If the same betting interest finishes first and second in an Exacta wager, the Exacta payout will be on first and third.

JACKPOT HI-5

A Jackpot Hi-5 bet is a betting transaction in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the exact order of finish of the first 5 runners in the specified Jackpot Hi-5 race. If there are races that have an entry, (i.e. 1 & 1A and/or 2 & 2B), Jackpot Hi-5 will not offer a wager consisting of both halves of the same betting interest. Example: If the same betting interest finishes first and second in a Jackpot Hi-5, the payout would be 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.

That jackpot portion of the pool will only be paid out if there is a single winning ticket. If there are multiple winning tickets that have correctly chosen the first 5 runners of the race, they will receive 50% of the pool for that day. The other 50% will go over into the Jackpot carryover.  If there are no winning tickets with the exact order of finish of the first 5 runners, 100% of the current day’s pool will be carried over into the Jackpot.

PICK 3,  PICK 4 AND PICK 5  BETTING

The Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 bets are betting transactions in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the official winners of each of three, four or five successive races specified for the Pick 3, Pick 4 or Pick 5 respectively.

Winning tickets for the Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 are determined in the following sequence: A) winners of all legs, B) most winners, then refund. If there is a change of surface in any leg that is NOT made known to the public prior to wagering for that pool closing, that leg will pay on all runners. If there are no winners in any leg of a pool, the entire pool is refunded.

PICK 3, PICK 4 & PICK 5 SCRATCHES

In the event a Pick 3, Pick 4 or Pick 5 ticket designates as a selection a horse which is scratched, excused or determined by the Stewards/Judges to be a non-starter in any of the races comprising the Pick 3, Pick 4 or Pick 5 the favourite, as evidenced by the amount wagered in the win pool at the time of the start of the race in which the scratch occurred, will be substituted for the non-starting selection. In the event that the money bet in the win pool for two or more favourites is identical, the selection with the lowest program number shall be substituted for the non-starting selection.

However, if a scratch occurs in any leg of the Pick 3, Pick 4 or Pick 5 pools before the pool is closed, a ticket including the scratched horse may be cancelled.

REFUNDS

Subject to the Regulations, all monies in all pools on a race are refunded in the event that the race is cancelled, declared off or declared no contest, and all monies bet on a horse are refunded if the horse is a late scratch or does not receive a fair start.  These refunds will be communicated to the public through various means such as betting terminals, video display, changes boards and our website.

The Pick(n) pool shall be cancelled and all Pick(n) wagers for the individual performance shall be refunded if:

• Pick-3: at least 2 legs are declared no contest or cancel. (Effective Jan 1, 2012)
• Pick-4, 5 or 6: at least 3 legs are declared no contest or cancel. (Effective Jan 1, 2012)

Where a horse that is part of an Entry is a late scratch or does not receive a fair start and at least one horse of that Entry receives a fair start in the race, all tickets purchased on the Entry remain valid and the purchase price of any such ticket shall not be refunded.

COMMON POOL WAGERING (INTERTRACK BETTING)

In the unlikely event of a communications or computer system failure that prevents pools from merging with the host track’s pools before the end of a race, CPMA regulations require that the site must refund all tickets for that race.  This refund will be communicated to the public through various means such as video displays, change boards and messages on our website.

FAIR START

If a horse has reached the Fair Start Pole (located 200 feet before the Starting Pole) by the time the mobile gate has reached the Starting Pole, that horse is deemed to have had a fair start. It makes no difference whether or not the horse is on or off stride at that precise moment. Under current policy and regulations, which are designed to be as fair as possible to all bettors on all starters, there is no Recall – a repeat of the entire starting procedure – when a horse does not reach the Fair Start Pole before the gate reaches the Starting Pole. Monies bet on such a horse are refunded in accordance with the regulation concerning refunds.

LOST & OLD TICKETS

WEG issued tickets or vouchers are valid indefinitely, however, they cannot be cashed at a mutuel teller after 2 years from date of issue. Please mail tickets, along with your name and address, to Mutuel Manager, P.O. Box 156, Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L2, keeping a photocopy for future reference.

For “Lost Tickets” originally sold at a Woodbine Entertainment Group racetrack or Teletheatre, please enquire at the Mutuel office at Woodbine, Greenwood Teletheatre, or Mohawk. Policy may be subject to change retroactively in the event regulatory bodies amend existing regulations.

ASSOCIATION PERCENTAGE, AND TAXATION/LEVY

The Woodbine Entertainment Group deducts and retains the following percentages from wagers placed at our own licensed sites which are then shared with the horsepeople, host and simulcast associations and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

WOODBINE\MOHAWK LIVE: Win, Place & Show: 13.65%. Trifecta & Pick 4: 21.7%. Double & Exacta 17.2%. Jackpot Hi-5 & Pick 5: 11.7%. All

other 23.0%

Horsepeople receive a further 2% on all wagers, except Trifecta wagering where it is 4%. The Ontario Provincial Government retains 0.5% on all bets placed in Ontario. The Canadian Government (through a revolving fund cost recovery basis) retains 0.8% on all wagers placed in Canada for provision of drug control and audit services.

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While every effort is made to provide accurate information in the program, Woodbine Entertainment Group assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

General Questions

What is U.S. common pool wagering and how does it benefit me?
Common pool wagering allows money wagered in Canada on a U.S. track to commingle or merge with money wagered throughout the U.S. As a result, the pools are much larger and therefore the payoffs could potentially be much larger as well.

Why are some pari-mutuel rules different from one track to another?
“Host rules apply”. This means that when betting into U.S. pools, we must abide by each state’s rules and regulations. These will vary from state to state and will be different from what we use in Canada.

Where can I find the host track’s rules and regulations?
Links to the host track’s rules and regulations can be found at www.woodbine.com. For those of you who do not have internet access, please see a customer service representative to address specific questions.

I’ve heard about a teller cancel delay. What is it?
The purpose of the “teller cancel delay” is to allow tellers to cancel mis-issued bets but has the effect of delaying the transmission of final pari-mutuel pools, which in turn delays the posting of final odds. Should a significant cancellation occur, payouts on winning bets may be affected. CPMA rules do not allow teller cancel delays in Canada.

Do I have to bet in U.S. dollars? Am I paid in U.S. dollars?
No, you can continue to wager in Canadian dollars and you will be paid in Canadian dollars.

Why do you not display the Canadian odds channel on U.S. common pool tracks?
Since WEG plans to use the same takeout rates as the U.S. track for the display pools (Win, Exactor, Double, Quinella), we can use the odds and probables reflected on their live video. Should WEG use a different rate on other pools (e.g. Triactors, Superfectas), a separate price channel will be available.

Why might payoffs on some pools differ from that of the host?
Since some U.S. tracks have extraordinarily low takeout rates on some pools (e.g. Triactors, Superfectas) that do not accommodate the high mandatory deductions in Canada, WEG will use a minimum of 25% for the total takeout on these pools. This is a very common rate that is used by other U.S. tracks.

Can I participate in the guaranteed payoff wagers offered at US tracks?
Absolutely. If a track offers a guarantee on one of their pools that we offer, that guarantee also applies to Canadian customers.

Why are some of my payoffs a nickel higher than what is displayed on the video screens?
In the U.S., dollar prices are rounded to a dime whereas in Canada, those prices are rounded to a nickel. Canadian customers benefit from rounding to a nickel.

Am I required to pay U.S. tax withholding while wagering on a U.S. track?
No. Fortunately, the U.S. Internal Revenue Services’ 30% withholding tax on winning wagers was repealed for Canadian citizens and therefore you will not be subject to such tax.

Why can’t I bet my usual bet minimums on all U.S. common pool tracks?
WEG will make every effort to maintain the usual bet minimums, but it is ultimately a host track’s decision. Some U.S. tracks and or regulators insist that Canadian minimums be higher, specifically on carryover pools such as the Pick 6, because the Canadian dollar is lower than the American dollar. Bet minimums that differ from our usual Canadian minimums will be noted in the program.

Net Pricing Calculations Questions

Will changing to Net Pool Pricing affect the way prices are calculated?
Yes, the algorithm used to calculate the prices is different under Net Pool Pricing. You should see little to no changes in prices under single priced pools such as Win, Ex,& Tri. Long shots tend to pay a little more and favourites tend to pay a little less in multi-priced pools such as Place and Show. However, amount paid out to the public is relatively the same.

Why can’t I hand calculate the prices from the pool values on the tote board?
Since Net Pool Pricing uses a complex algorithm to calculate the prices there are many other variables that affect the calculation of the price which are not displayed on the tote board.

Why do some jurisdictions display different prices than the host track?
If a jurisdiction chooses to or is required to use different takeout rates and or breakage, prices at that jurisdiction will vary from the host. Jurisdictions using a higher takeout rate, will be displaying lower prices than the host.

Is Net Pool Pricing more susceptible to minus pools?
Due to the nature of the algorithm used in Net Pool Pricing on a split pool such as Place or Show, a heavy favourite will not drive the value down on the remaining runners as much as it does using the standard pricing method. This may result in the favourite paying $2.10 and the other horses paying more which is more favourable to the betting public. The negative break is then attributed to the wager and that association who bet down the favourite.

How can pools from two different currencies be merged together?
Net Pool Pricing allows for pools in different currencies to be merged together by applying a daily exchange rate before the foreign currency enters the pools and again to the prices before being paid to the public.

If the commission takeout in one jurisdiction is 20% and in another it is 25%, why are the
prices not different by 5%?
The host track calculates a network wide base price, which is sent to all jurisdictions. From there, each
jurisdiction applies their net factor (1-commission takeout %) to that base price and then their breakage rule before the customer price is determined.

The United States government eliminated the 30% withholding tax on foreign winning pari-mutuel wagers in 2004, which removed one of the barriers preventing Canada to commingle with U.S. tracks. However, one of the CPMA requirements for this to occur is to change the U.S. host track’s pricing package from standard pricing to net pricing. This upgrade to NPP (Net Pool Pricing) enables U.S. and Canadian tracks to deal with foreign tax rates and currency values.

This pricing package accomplishes this by commingling Net Pools (subtracting association retention and taxes from the gross pool) as opposed to commingling the Gross Pools. This not only overcomes the barriers indicated with the standard pricing calculation, but it is arguably a more accurate method of calculation. This may result in slightly different pricing results for the Place and Show pools particularly in situations where one of the horses on the board has been bet down significantly.

Net Pool Pricing allows each jurisdiction participating in the pool to offer different retention rates (also known as takeout rates) than the host track should they choose or be regulated to do so. For example, if a participant chooses to use a higher takeout than the host track, they will have proportionately less weighting in the commingled pool than wagers with a lower takeout rate. Therefore, jurisdictions using a higher retention offer a lower payout to their customers and the remainder of the network is not affected. This also would work the other way should the participant use a lower takeout, and their respective prices would be higher than the host track.

Place and Show Pools

For most pools and payouts, if all localities were using the same take-out rate, the prices would be identical under both the Standard and Net-Pool pricing models. But in any multiple winning runner pool (Place and Show and any other pool in which a dead-heat creates two or more different payouts), the Net-Pool model distributes the same amount of winnings slightly differently. This is a function of allocating the profits to the different winners based on their NET winnings rather than their GROSS winnings. The total amount of monies paid out will not change, but the net effect, in these cases, is that the favorites will pay a little less, while long shots will pay a little more.

$2.10 Payouts and Minus Pools

Fans will notice that show pools with a heavy favorite that you would expect to return $2.10 for all three runners, now may now pay significantly higher on the two non-favorite horses. This is because that even though the payout on the favorite is reduced to a number even farther below the minimum $2.10 payout, it still must return $2.10. But the other horses are not participating in the minus pool as they were under the Standard Pricing model.

Calculating Projected Payouts using Tote Board Information

One of the results of the Net Pool pricing model is that one can no longer accurately calculate the payouts using only the information available on the tote board. This is true for all pools, including the Win pool. The reason for this is one needs to know the commission rate of the wagers on each runner in each pool to determine the true NET pool and NET winning wagers. (The tote odds continue to be accurate, as the tote has all of the necessary information to properly calculate and display the current odds / payouts.

Net Calculations

Common Pool Wagering Rules & Regulations Website Links

Please select the applicable state/province or national body link below and a new window will open.

Canada: CPMA
France: Betting Rules
Dubai: Betting Rules
Jamaica: Betting Rules
South Africa: Saft Tote​
Sweden: ​ATG​ / Betting Regulations​
Saudi Arabia: Betting Rules
UK: ​International racing rules
Ireland: ​​​Betting Conditions
Hong Kong: ​Betting Rules​​
United States: ​
Alabama
​​Alaska​
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana​​
Maine
​Maryland
Massachusetts
​​Michigan​
Minnesota​​
Montana
​Nebraska
​​Nevada​
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York​​
North Dakota​
Ohio
Oklahoma​
Oregon​​
Pennsylvania​​
South Dakota
​Texas​​
Utah​
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia​
Wyoming