Charles Town Races will lower takeout rates on all pick threes and daily doubles on its programs to 15% while increasing the minimum wagers for only the late-card versions of those bets after receiving unanimous approval at Tuesday's West Virginia Racing Commission meeting.The current takeouts are 22% for pick threes and 19% for doubles.The existing minimum wager amount for pick threes has been a base bet of $1 for a straight ticket, with 50-cent increments allowed for multiple combinations. The double minimum has been $2, with $1 wheeling allowed for multiple combinations.Now those minimums will increase to $3 for the late pick three and $5 for the late double.So why are customers getting the benefit of lower takeout on all versions of those wagers while the higher minimums apply only to the late-card versions?Paul Espinosa Jr., who is the track's announcer, oddsmaker and racing media administrator, explained to commissioners there were concerns that the tote system might not be able to properly handle different takeout rates for the same wagers within a single card.“This is just to be able to allow for no confusion for our tote companies,” Espinosa said. “They did run into some issues at Monmouth Park where they tried to keep the takeout [at the higher level] for the early doubles and pick threes, but then change it for the late [bets].“So it just makes it easier to just make it across the board 15%,” Espinosa said. “And in general, lowering takeout is supposed to be something that appeals, obviously, to our horseplayers. I'm confident that it will be well-received by horseplayers and think that it will increase handle enough to be able to offset any sort of loss in takeout revenue received.”Espinosa said Charles Town would be following the lead of other North American tracks in making this switch.“This is an idea that has been making its rounds around the horse racing industry. A number of tracks have rolled out these changes where they will increase the minimum wager for the late pick three to $3, and the late double to $5. From a wagering format standpoint, it kind of slots in nicely behind our pick six, our pick five, and our pick four in terms of giving horseplayers an extra reason to look forward to playing the final three races on our cards,” Espinosa said.“In my research, [at] the tracks that have implemented these changes, [it] has been effective in increasing handle for those late pools,” Espinosa said.The post Charles Town To Lower Pick Three And Double Takeouts To 15% appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.