Gulfstream Park won’t be finished by opening day Jan. 4, 2006. Photo © Brad Yazell. Thanks Greg Melikov.

The new Gulfstream Park will not be finished by Wednesday Jan.4, 2006 when the South Florida meet moves to the Hallandale Beach racetrack which is host to important Kentucky Derby trail races.

Promising four restaurants, a nightclub, sports and entertainment bar and a 12,000-gallon aquarium, shopping mall, hotel, condominium, movie theaters and casino-tyle slot machines… Gulfsteam will be South Florida’s first racino (racetrack casino) with Vegas scale accommodations.

However, beyond the physical amenities, hardcore horse bettors are more concerned about the racing and betting facilities as it would be a shame to see a repeat of Gulfstream’s s opening day jitters in 2005 [Thoroughbred Times]. Gulftream’s solution?

"It’s not that we don’t want people to come here, but we don’t want to disappoint people," Savin said. "We would rather that the patrons went to Calder. The thing we’ve been saying, because we’ve been trying to be very open and honest, is if you are expecting perfection, go to Calder. Bet Gulfstream at Calder [Sun Sentinel]

The new grandstand and clubhouse cost $171 million. How do they get that back? The third floor has special rooms for $3,000-a-day and $10,000-a-day bettors. Gulfstream opening day[Sun Herald]. Ordinary bettors make do with only two rooms on the first floor of the 360,000 square-foot facility. Admission to those rooms will be $10. A seat will be an additional $5 and a seat with a television monitor will be $10 more. That’s already minus $25 and they have not even placed a bet yet!

No wonder, more and more people are betting on horse races online, whether with pari-mutuel sites like Youbet or offshore racebooks that do not comingle with the pools such as Bodog Racebook and VIP Horses. These racebooks also award huge value for money such as bonus on deposit and rebates on turnover (not losses!) – up to 7%! Rebates help horse bettors defeat the pari-mutuel system’s “take out” rate.

The take-out on the straight bets is bad enough, and you figure to take a few more percentage points the worst of it when you bet the exotics such as the pick-six. In fact, you face a double whammy on the pick-six. The take-out is huge, and you have almost no chance of hitting it anyway [due to the long odds]. Read Barry Meadow’s Money Secrets at the Racetrack for solid, timeless insight how to eke a profit betting on pari-mutuel systems.