System and method for providing bets regarding intermediate points in a race event using fractional timing

A method for betting comprising:

• controlling, by at least one processor:
• establishing a first betting option that permits a bettor to place a bet that designates a participant of a race, one of a plurality of points within the course of the race, and a range of times, the race having a plurality of participants, the bet to pay if the designated participant arrives at a designated point of the points within the designated range of times;
• receiving at least one bet over a communication network from each of a plurality of computing devices, each of the at least one bets designating a participant, a point, and a range of times, at least a first bet designating the finish of the race as a designated point;
• determining actual times for the participants designated by the bets at the designated points during running of the race, based on race positioning information obtained by a respective plurality of measuring devices and received in real time by the at least one processor over the communication network from the plurality of measuring devices;
• and
• determining which of the bets are winning bets based at least in part upon the actual times and the corresponding bets;
• wherein at least one given bet of the bets comprises a plurality of bet components and at least one bet component is associated with a bet matrix, the matrix having a plurality of columns extending in a first direction and a plurality of rows extending in a second direction, each column of the bet matrix corresponding with an intermediate point in the race;
• and
• for at least one of the plurality of columns in the bet matrix, populating that column with numbers identifying one or more possible fractional times determined for the intermediate point corresponding with that column such that at least one fractional time is located in each row intersecting that column, in which a particular bet component is a winning bet component if the bet matrix includes a particular number of matched entries aligned consecutively in a particular direction in the bet matrix;
• the bets being divided into a plurality of betting pools, wherein at least two of the betting pools are associated with respective intermediate points of the race;
• the bets being received on a betting exchange;
• and
• causing over the communication network, display at an interface of a display of at least one of the computing devices at least one of the bet matrix or an outcome of the at least one bet.

An apparatus comprising:

• a computing device including at least one processor configured to control:
• establishing a first betting option that permits a bettor to place a bet that designates a participant of a race, one of a plurality of points within the course of the race, and a range of times, the race having a plurality of participants, the bet to pay if the designated participant arrives at a designated point of the points within the designated range of times;
• receiving, over a communication network, at least one bet from each of a plurality of computing devices, each of the at least one bets designating a participant, a point, and a range of times, at least a first bet designating the finish of the race as a designated point;
• determining actual times for the participants designated by the bets at the designated points during running of the race, based on race positioning information obtained by a respective plurality of measuring devices and received in real time by the apparatus over the communication network from the plurality of measuring devices;
• and
• determining which of the bets are winning bets based at least in part upon the actual times and the corresponding bets;
• wherein at least one given bet of the bets comprises a plurality of bet components and at least one bet component is associated with a bet matrix, the matrix having a plurality of columns extending in a first direction and a plurality of rows extending in a second direction, each column of the bet matrix corresponding with an intermediate point in the race;
• and
• for at least one of the plurality of columns in the bet matrix, populating that column with numbers identifying one or more possible fractional times determined for the intermediate point corresponding with that column such that at least one fractional time is located in each row intersecting that column, a particular bet component is a winning bet component if the bet matrix includes a particular number of matched entries aligned consecutively in a particular direction in the bet matrix;
• the bets being divided into a plurality of betting pools, wherein at least two of the betting pools are associated with respective intermediate points of the race;
• the bets being received on a betting exchange;
• and
• causing, over the communication network, display at an interface of a display of at least one of the computing devices at least one of the bet matrix or an outcome of the at least one bet.

An apparatus comprising:

• a first computing device including at least one processor configured to control:
• receiving, over a communication network, a bet from a second computing device, in which the bet indicates a participant in a race, an intermediate point in the race, and a range of time;
• determining whether the bet is a winning bet based at least in part on whether the participant reaches the intermediate point during the range of time using race positioning information obtained by a measuring device and received in real time by the apparatus over the communication network from the measuring device;
• and
• causing, over the communication network, rendering at an interface of a third computing device an indication of whether the bet is a winning bet.

A method comprising:

• controlling, by at least one processor,
• receiving, over a communication network, a bet from a first computing device, in which the bet indicates a participant in a race, an intermediate point in the race, and a range of time;
• determining whether the bet is a winning bet based at least in part on whether the participant reaches the intermediate point during the range of time using race positioning information obtained by a measuring device and received in real time by the at least one processor over the communication network from the measuring device;
• and
• causing, over the communication network, rendering at an interface of a second computing device an indication of whether the bet is a winning bet.