First4 Bonus Weekend!

Media Release
12 January 2009

First4 Bonus Weekend!

Punters could be celebrating in style this weekend with the TAB offering the first bonuses for its new betting product – the First4.

The TAB will be seeding the First4 pools by $6,000 for four Harness races on Friday 16 January, by $10,000 for six Thoroughbred races on Saturday 17 January and by $2,500 for one Greyhound race on Sunday 18 January.

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

The highlight of the weekend will be an additional $25,000 First4 Bonus on the prestigious $1m Group I First Sovereign Trust Telegraph Handicap over 1200m at Trentham (R9) this Saturday, featuring Australian horse Lord Turffontein.

New Zealand Racing Board GM Racing & Wagering Bill Colgan said the First4 was introduced in New Zealand last month 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 bonanza 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.

“This is the first time the TAB has offered a Bonus on the First4 but we will now be offering them on a regular basis subject to the jackpot amounts,” Mr Colgan said.

The First4 Bonus races for the weekend of 16-18 January will be:

Harness - Friday 16 January 2009
$6,000 First4 Bonus on:
• Blenheim R4 and last race
• Cambridge R1 and R4

Thoroughbreds - Saturday 17 January 2009љљљљљљљљљ
$10,000 First4 Bonus on:
• Avondale R4 and last race
• Gore R4 and last race
• Wellington R4 and last race
• Wellington R9 ($1m Telegraph Handicap $25,000 Bonus)

Greyhounds - Sunday 18 January 2009
$2,500 First4 Bonus on:
• Auckland R4 (4.14pm)

(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 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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