Keys to making Haskell 2018 wagers on the Betfair Exchange
With the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational set for Sunday, bettors in Monmouth Park’s home state of New Jersey have available some unique wagering opportunities.
Betfair Exchange is offering a no-risk $50 bet on the Haskell for New Jersey residents, so I asked veteran handicapper Chris Rossi to share some tips with us on how to get started winning on the exchange. Rossi has been playing the Betfair Exchange since it opened in May 2016. Rossi’s first recommendation is to look at the longshots. “Of the money that is bet on the exchange, 90% of it will focus on the first three or four horses in the Haskell,” Rossi said. “If you look at the odds on the fourth through seventh horses, those odds will be really wide compared with the tote. A longshot that might be 25-1 on the tote could be 30-1 to 90-1 on the exchange.” This type of wide discrepancy in odds offers additional value that you can only find on the exchange. “For me, that’s a way to take a $50 free roll, but parlay that on to a great value bet where you could possibly turn that into $5,000,” he said. “So if you pick a longshot that you like, you should watch the odds -- and they tend to go way up in the last minutes before the race starts.” If you’re betting favorites, Rossi offers a different strategy. “Look at the top three favorites and try to figure out which one is most likely to lose and then position yourself against that,” he said. “For example, let’s say you don’t like Bravazo. The key is to understand at what percentage he is going to win? Is it 10% of the time? 15% of the time? “If he is 3-1, then you can offer that 3-1 to other players. If he wins, you lose $30. If he loses, you win $10,” Rossi continued. “That may not be the most exciting thing to win -- $10. But what I like to do is take the $10 and use that as a free roll on another favorite that I like.” Overall, the Betfair Exchange offers so many unique betting opportunities to New Jersey residents that other players around the country could take advantage of in the future.
Above: Exchange offerings Haskell morning
“It really makes you think about every horse and what their true price should be,” Rossi said. “I generally like to make my own line, and if a horse is 20% higher or lower than what I think is right then I will let that dictate my play.”