$2,500 First4 Bonus on Auckland R4 and last race

12 February 2009

Media Release

First4 Bonus Weekend and $1 million Pick6!

Punters could again be celebrating in style this weekend with the TAB offering a raft of First4 Bonuses and a $1 million Pick6 at New Plymouth.

The definite highlight of the weekend has to be the $1 million Pick6 on the Thoroughbred meeting at New Plymouth on Saturday 14 February, starting on Race 5 at 2:45pm. 

The last time a $1million Pick6 was up for grabs was nearly 18 months ago at Hawke’s Bay in September 2007. A Pick6 requires the selection of the winners of six nominated races at the one meeting.

The TAB will also be seeding the First4 pools by at least $5,000 for five Harness races on Friday 13 February, by $15,000 for five Thoroughbred races on Saturday 14 February and by at least $2,500 for three Greyhound races on Sunday 15 February.

The First4 Bonuses this weekend mean customers will have the chance to claim some large dividends with some First4 pools likely to reach more than $20,000.

New Zealand Racing Board GM Racing & Wagering Bill Colgan said the First4 was introduced in New Zealand late last year and had already captured the imagination of Kiwi punters.

“This new product really does add another dimension to the excitement of racing and this weekend’s bonuses will only increase that,” he said.

Mr Colgan said the First4 Bonuses this weekend would be funded from jackpots carried forward from First4’s not fully struck on the last race of a meeting held in January.

The First4 Bonus races for the weekend of 13-15 February will be:

Harness - Friday 13 February

$5,000 First4 Bonus on

Auckland R1 and R4
Christchurch R1 and R4
Also an $8,000 First4 Bonus on Christchurch R8 ($100,000 Group 1 PGG Wrightson Breeders Stakes) 

Thoroughbreds - Saturday 14 February

$15,000 First 4 Bonus on:

Ellerslie R4 and R7 ($100,000 Group 2 Auckland Championship Stakes)
New Plymouth R4
Southland R4 and R9 (Dunedin Casino Invercargill Gold Cup)
 

The last race at each meeting is also a First4 race, but with no seeding bonus applying.

Greyhounds - Sunday 15 February

$2,500 First4 Bonus on Auckland R4 and last race

Auckland R4 and last race

Also $5,000 First4 Bonus on Pacific Sheet and Coil Stakes

(NB: The unstruck First4 dividends are held and paid to the same racing code, hence the reason for the different values for the bonus amounts.)

The First4 is a betting product where the customer selects the first four runners in the correct order in a nominated race. This is similar to a Trifecta, but has an additional selection for the fourth position.

Currently the First4 is only offered on the fourth and the final race of a domestic day or twilight meeting and the first and the fourth race of a domestic night meeting (starting after 5pm).

The TAB’s next new betting option, the Quaddie, is expected to be available later this month in time for Auckland Cup Week. The Quaddie is a multiple leg bet similar to a Double, Treble and Pick6, but with four legs.

Both First4 and Quaddie are intended to be commingled with Australia later this year and are featured on a new combined betting slip with the Pick6 and Six Pack.

Ends

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