HACKENSACK, N.J. _ Keith Coppola bet on the 1 and 5 horses to win in a recent race that took place at Monmouth Park in Oceanport.
The 7 horse wound up the winner _ but it wasn't a complete loss for Coppola. He wound up getting most of his $250 in original wagers back thanks to a tip from a fellow bettor _ and the unique option in New Jersey of being able to bet on a race after the horses have left the starting gate.
It has been a little over a year since New Jersey joined the United Kingdom in offering "exchange wagering." No longer must bettors lament a sluggish start by their favored horse, leaving them almost two full minutes to helplessly watch as those who chose faster horses cheer them to the finish. Now they can make new bets in mid-race on races throughout the country as online bettors offer adjusted odds based on early developments in the race.
Exchange wagering is so named because the gambling resembles a stock exchange, with ever-changing prices and constant buying and selling as one person seeks to sell at that price while another wants to buy. The betting takes place on smart phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. While Coppola, a Verona resident, and his crew prefer to gather at the Meadowlands on most weekdays, exchange players can bet anywhere in the state.
The bets can be placed on win, lose or draw. Exchange wagering helps when a bettor is sure that a particular horse _ even if it is one of the favorites _ won't win but has no idea who will win. It allows bettors to place a bet that pays off as long as the horse doesn't win. It even allows a bettor to cash out mid-race.
The new wagering is still in its relative infancy, but is growing in popularity. The $250,000 that gamblers risked on the exchange during the recent Haskell Day races at Monmouth Park was about double the amount wagered on the exchange for Haskell Day races a year earlier. The pool of New Jersey exchange players remains small _ about 400 wagered on Haskell Day _ but May/June/July exchange betting figures at the height of racing season also has doubled from $1 million to $2 million.
So how did Coppola salvage that Monmouth Park race? Before the race, Albert Moller of Wayne told him that with the withdrawal of the 2 and 3 horses _ which would have lured the 7 horse into an early sprint that would have worn the thoroughbred out _ the 7 horse how had a great chance if it got a solid start.
Sure enough, the 7 horse got a good start and Coppola within seconds was able to accept several bets from other players on his electronic tablet _ many are from outside the U.S. _ for the 7 to win. At race's end, Coppola had gotten back almost $200.
"I liked the other horses better, but we also knew that only the 7 was another threat, so we were ready for that possibility," Coppola said.
Not all such races pay off so modestly for a small group of hardcore professional handicappers, some of whom tend to arrive each weekday for the 11 a.m., opening of Meadowlands Racetrack simulcasting _ and stay until the 11 p.m. closing.
After all, to these pros every race available around the country and around the world is another opportunity to strike it big.
A recent Friday visit to a small room several floors above the large simulcasting area found Coppola and Moller _ the two wise-cracking players of the group _ and more laidback regulars Robert Herskowitz of Wayne and Leonard DeStefano of Secaucus. DeStefano shuns the electronic aspect of the betting, but his many decades of picking winners makes him a key player.
That group _ all in their 50s except the 82-year-old DeStefano _ won a collective average of about $60,000 per month in April, May, and June, Coppola said. That includes bets of $200 to $400 on races they particularly like _ and up to $1,000 on a race that breaks just the right way, in their eyes.
July proved cruel, however _ the group lost about $40,000 in all, Coppola said, thanks to a long run of horses who lost by a nose and others who looked promising before being disqualified during the race.
"We're all professional handicappers, but some are specialists on certain tracks," said Coppola, who also acts as a consultant for exchange wagering operator BetFair to help raise awareness of the new gambling among traditional bettors. "I wouldn't call it gambling at all, given the expertise we have."
Coppola, 51, said his previous experience as a consultant producing automated platforms for day-trading stock firms as well as a longtime love for horse racing made exchange wagering a natural fit for him.
The pre-race "parade" of the racehorses, Coppola said, often gave valuable information to the observant bettor. "My father bred horses, so I grew up knowing what I'm looking at," Coppola said. "Is he well-fed? I look at his flesh. Why does he have bandages (on his leg) this time but not last time?"
Coppola added that skittish, perspiring horses rarely do well, allowing a chance to profit from a betting option not available on the traditional tote board. That is, you can "lay" the horse _ wager that the horse will not win, or not even finish second or third, either _ and accept an offer of any amount from a bettor who believed in the horse.
One skittish horse spotted by Coppola that afternoon led him to say he "hated" the horse in that race _ and indeed the horse was slow out of the gate. But Coppola waited seconds too long to place his wagers against the horse and by the time he sought to find such action, that segment of the exchange had dried up.
