New bet type – odds and evens

A new bet type, Odds and Evens, has been introduced by the TAB and Racing NSW to attract young punters and help fund the $7.5 million Golden Eagle.

Odds and Evens is available from Tuesday across all three codes- thoroughbred, harness and greyhounds.

This new bet type will fund the $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) for four-year-olds to be run for the first time at Rosehill on November 2.

It will also fund a new $1 million race for Harness Racing NSW and a $1 million race for Greyhound Racing NSW with details of the races yet to be announced.

Odds and Evens is a simple bet where the punter selects if the numbers of the first two placegetters are either odd numbers or even numbers or split, where one is an odd number and the other an even number.

Examples:

– If the first two placegetters in a race are numbers 3 and 5, then punters who had backed Odds will win

– If the first two placegetters in a race are numbers 8 and 2, then punters who had backed Evens will win

– If the first two placegetters in a race are numbers 5 and 8, then punters who had backed Split will win.

TAB will also utilise merged pool technology to maximise the liquidity of Odds and Evens by merging the pool with quinella bets.

“It’s an entry point for people that don’t understand racing,” Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’lands said.

“Our biggest competition is sport. You don’t need too much intellect to have a sports bet – you either follow St George or you follow the (Canterbury) Bulldogs so you just back one or the other.

“We need an easy bet type for people to come into the racing industry and hopefully they get more involved.

“With the digital age this is really attractive to the younger generation. The whole focus has been in attracting the new generation, the under 35s and this product is for them.

“It is aimed at a completely new audience under 35.”

Officials hope the Odds and Evens bet will be an alternative to Keno’s Heads or Tails.