Interactive wagering system

• US 6,773,347 B1
• Filed: 07/14/2000
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ODS Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ODS Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Hamilton, Joni L., Satterfield, Kevin D., Zaring, Jon C., Jacobson, Joseph C., Marshall, Connie T.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/616,478
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/25, 463/29, 463/30, 463/36, 463/40-42, 463/43, 379/93.13, 379/93.09, 379/93.12, 340/323.R, 340/825, 340/825.29, 340/5.1, 340/5.4, 340/5.6, 700/91-93, 705/1, 705/14, 705/16-18, 705/26, 709/100, 709/200, 709/201, 709/203, 455/3.05, 455/3.06, 455/73, 455/74, 348/61, 348/552, 345/700, 345/705, 345/716, 345/717, 345/866, 345/841, 345/843, 345/853
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking

Abstract

An interactive wagering application is provided that displays information areas on various wager creation screens. The information areas may be configurable. Information such as promotions, weather information, jockey information, trainer information, odds, or any other suitable information may be displayed in the information areas. The interactive wagering application may create a wagering ticket that reflects the amount of a user'"'"'s wager and the total amount of the user'"'"'s wager when multiple runners are taken into account. The interactive wagering application may record the user'"'"'s position within the application and the user'"'"'s recent wagering selections, so that this information may be used to assist the user in restarting the application after exiting or when creating additional wagers.

Claims

1. A method for allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run using an interactive wagering application that is implemented using user equipment having a display, comprising:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on the display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item is a selection for a wager requirement and has an associated information area, wherein each menu item is on the same wager creation screen as its associated information area, wherein at least one of the information areas contains promotional information, and wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens; and

providing the user with an opportunity to use the interactive wagering application to place the wager.

2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options.

3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options.

4. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information.

5. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information, wherein the promotional information in each information area promotes a racetrack associated with the racetrack option with which that information area is associated.

6. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options.

7. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain weather information.

8. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain information on upcoming events.

9. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack hours.

10. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack directions.

11. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack closure information.

12. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options.

13. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information.

14. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options, wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information, and wherein the race information in each information area includes distance information.

15. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options that include race information.

16. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options for races, wherein the race options include race information, and wherein the race information included in each race option includes a race type selected from the group consisting of:

allowance, maiden claiming, claiming, and derby.

17. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain post time information.

18. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options.

19. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the selectable horse options contain information on odds.

20. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners.

21. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the information region associated with that selectable horse option informs the user how to obtain information on the additional runners.

22. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least a given one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that the given selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the method further comprises displaying a screen containing information on each of the multiple runners when the user selects the given selectable horse option.

23. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain jockey information.

24. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain trainer information.

25. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options.

26. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options.

27. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options and contain wager type descriptions.

28. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options.

29. The method defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options.

30. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the user selects multiple runners for a given wager with the wager creation screens, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options and contain information indicating how much the given wager costs for each wager amount option taking into account the multiple runners that have been selected.

31. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising allowing a content creator to modify the content in the information areas.

32. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising allowing a content creator to modify the content in the information areas using a web interface.

33. A method for allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run using an interactive wagering application that is implemented using user equipment having a display, comprising:

providing a user with an opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application;

displaying at least one of a plurality of wager creation screens for the user, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items;

allowing the user to begin creating a given wager by selecting at least one of the plurality of interactive menu items on each of the at least one of the plurality of wager creation screens while interactive wagering application maintains information on the user'"'"'s location within the plurality of wager creation screens;

allowing the user to exit the interactive wagering application before completing the given wager;

providing the user with a further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application; and

automatically returning the user to the same location within the plurality of wager creation screens that the user was at prior to exiting the application when the user invokes the application in response to the further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application.

34. An interactive wagering system that provides a user with an opportunity to submit electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications path using an interactive wagering application, comprising:

user equipment with which the interactive wagering application is implemented, wherein the user equipment is configured to;

display a plurality of wager creation screens for the user, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item is a selection for a wager requirement and has an associated information area, wherein each menu item is on the same wager creation screen as its associated information area, wherein at least one of the information areas contains promotional information, and wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens; and

provide the user with an opportunity to use the interactive wagering application to place the wager.

35. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options.

36. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options.

37. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information.

38. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information, wherein the promotional information in each information area promotes a racetrack associated with the racetrack option with which that information area is associated.

39. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options.

40. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain weather information.

41. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain information on upcoming events.

42. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack hours.

43. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack directions.

44. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack closure information.

45. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options.

46. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information.

47. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options, wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information, and wherein the race information in each information area includes distance information.

48. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options that include race information.

49. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options for races, wherein the race options include race information, and wherein the race information included in each race option includes a race type selected from the group consisting of:

allowance, maiden claiming, claiming, and derby.

50. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain post time information.

51. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options.

52. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the selectable horse options contain information on odds.

53. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners.

54. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the information region associated with that selectable horse option informs the user how to obtain information on the additional runners.

55. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least a given one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that the given selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the user equipment is further configured to display a screen containing information on each of the multiple runners when the user selects the given selectable horse option.

56. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain jockey information.

57. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain trainer information.

58. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options.

59. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options.

60. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options and contain wager type descriptions.

61. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options.

62. The system defined in claim 34, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options.

63. The system defined in claim 34, wherein the user selects multiple runners for a given wager with the wager creation screens, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options and contain information indicating how much the given wager costs for each wager amount option taking into account the multiple runners that have been selected.

64. The system defined in claim 34 wherein the user equipment is further configured to allow a content creator to modify the content in the information areas.

65. The system defined in claim 34 wherein the user equipment is further configured to allow a content creator to modify the content in the information areas using a web interface.

66. An interactive wagering system that provides a user with an opportunity to submit electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications path using an interactive wagering application, comprising:

user equipment with which the interactive wagering application is implemented, wherein the user equipment is configured to;

provide a user with an opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application;

display at least one of a plurality of wager creation screens for the user, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items;

allow the user to begin creating a given wager by selecting at least one of the plurality of interactive menu items on each of the at least one of the plurality of wager creation screens while the interactive wagering application maintains information on the user'"'"'s location within the plurality of wager creation screens;

allow the user to exit the interactive wagering application before completing the given wager;

provide the user with a further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application; and

automatically return the user to the same location within the plurality of wager creation screens that the user was at prior to exiting the application when the user invokes the application in response to the further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application.

67. A machine-readable medium for use in allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run, comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on a display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item is a selection for a wager requirement and has an associated information area, wherein each menu item is on the same wager creation screen as its associated information area, wherein at least one of the information areas contains promotional information, and wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens; and

providing the user with an opportunity to place the wager.

68. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options.

69. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options.

70. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information.

71. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain promotional information, wherein the promotional information in each information area promotes a racetrack associated with the racetrack option with which that information area is associated.

72. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options.

73. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain weather information.

74. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain information on upcoming events.

75. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack hours.

76. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack directions.

77. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain racetrack closure information.

78. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options.

79. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the race options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information.

80. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options, wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the race options and contain race information, and wherein the race information in each information area includes distance information.

81. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options that include race information.

82. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options for races, wherein the race options include race information, and wherein the race information included in each race option includes a race type selected from the group consisting of:

allowance, maiden claiming, claiming, and derby.

83. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the racetrack options are located adjacent to the racetrack options and contain post time information.

84. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options.

85. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the selectable horse options contain information on odds.

86. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners.

87. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that that selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the information region associated with that selectable horse option informs the user how to obtain information on the additional runners.

88. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein at least a given one of the selectable horse options contains an indication that the given selectable horse option is associated with multiple runners, and wherein the machine-readable medium further comprises machine program logic recorded thereon for displaying a screen containing information on each of the multiple runners when the user selects the given selectable horse option.

89. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain jockey information.

90. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the horse options are located adjacent to the horse options and contain trainer information.

91. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options.

92. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options.

93. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager type selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager type options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager type options are located adjacent to the wager type options and contain wager type descriptions.

94. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options.

95. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options.

96. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, wherein the user selects multiple runners for a given wager with the wager creation screens, wherein at least one of the wager creation screens is a wager amount selection screen in which the menu items are selectable wager amount options and wherein the information areas that are associated with the wager amount options are located adjacent to the wager amount options and contain information indicating how much the given wager costs for each wager amount option taking into account the multiple runners that have been selected.

97. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, further comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for allowing a content creator to modify the content in the information areas.

98. The machine-readable medium defined in claim 67, further comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for allowing a content creator to modify the content in the information areas using a web interface.

99. A machine-readable medium for use in allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run with an interactive wagering application, comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for:

providing a user with an opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application;

displaying at least one of a plurality of wager creation screens for the user, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items;

allowing the user to begin creating a given wager by selecting at least one of the plurality of interactive menu items on each of the at least one of the plurality of wager creation screens while maintaining information on the user'"'"'s location within the plurality of wager creation screens;

allowing the user to exit the interactive wagering application before completing the given wager;

providing the user with a further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application; and

automatically returning the user to the same location within the plurality of wager creation screens that the user was at prior to exiting the application when the user invokes the application in response to the further opportunity to invoke the interactive wagering application.

100. A method for allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run using an interactive wagering application that is implemented using user equipment having a display, comprising:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on the display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, and wherein each menu item has an associated information area;

allowing the user to create a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, wherein one of the plurality of interactive menu items corresponds to a betting interest that has more than one associated runner; and

displaying a wager ticket on the display after the user selects the betting interest that has more than one associated runner and a wager amount, wherein the wager ticket includes a total wager amount that is calculated as though the betting interest that has more than one associated runner actually has only one associated runner.

101. An interactive wagering system that provides a user with an opportunity to submit electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications path using an interactive wagering application, comprising:

user equipment having a display with which the interactive wagering application is implemented, wherein the user equipment is configured to;

display a plurality of wager creation screens for the user on the display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, and wherein each menu item has an associated information area;

allow the user to create a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, wherein one of the plurality of interactive menu items corresponds to a betting interest that has more than one associated runner; and

display a wager ticket on the display after the user selects the betting interest that has more than one associated runner and a wager amount, wherein the wager ticket includes a total wager amount that is calculated using the selected wager amount as though the betting interest that has more than one associated runner actually has only one associated runner.

102. A machine-readable medium for use in allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run, comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on a display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, and wherein each menu item has an associated information area;

allowing the user to create a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, wherein one of the plurality of interactive menu items corresponds to a betting interest that has more than one associated runner; and

displaying a wager ticket on a display after the user selects the betting interest that has more than one associated runner and a wager amount, wherein the wager ticket includes a total wager amount that is calculated as though the betting interest that has more than one associated runner actually has only one associated runner.

103. A method for allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run using an interactive wagering application that is implemented using user equipment, comprising:

allowing a user to create a plurality of wagers with the interactive wagering application, wherein the plurality of wagers are created by making wager selections;

storing information on the user'"'"'s wager selections made while creating the plurality of wagers;

allowing the user to place the plurality of wagers;

determining which of the user'"'"'s wager selections were the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections based on the stored information; and

providing an opportunity for the user to use the interactive wagering application to create a wager using the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections as assumed wager preferences.

104. An interactive wagering system that provides a user with an opportunity to submit electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications path using an interactive wagering application, comprising:

user equipment with which the interactive wagering application is implemented, wherein the user equipment is configured to;

allow a user to create a plurality of wagers with the interactive wagering application, wherein the plurality of wagers are created by making wager selections;

storing information on the user'"'"'s wager selections made while creating the plurality of wagers;

allow the user to place the plurality of wagers;

determine which of the user'"'"'s wager selections were the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections based on the stored information; and

provide an opportunity for the user to use the interactive wagering application to create a wager using the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections as assumed wager preferences.

105. A machine-readable medium for use in allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run, comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for:

allowing a user to create a plurality of wagers, wherein the plurality of wagers are created by making wager selections;

storing information on the wager selections that the user made while creating the plurality of wagers;

allowing the user to place the plurality of wagers;

determining which of the user'"'"'s wager selections were the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections based on the stored information; and

providing an opportunity for the user to create a wager using the user'"'"'s most frequently made wager selections as assumed wager preferences.

106. A method for allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run using an interactive wagering application that is implemented using user equipment having a display, comprising:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on the display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item has an associated information area, wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, and wherein;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated racetrack option;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated race option; and

at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein the selectable horse options correspond to all available horses for a race to be run, and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated horse option; and

providing the user with an opportunity to use the interactive wagering application to place the wager.

107. An interactive wagering system that provides a user with an opportunity to submit electronic wagers on races that are to be run to computer equipment over a communications path using an interactive wagering application, comprising:

user equipment with which the interactive wagering application is implemented, wherein the user equipment is configured to;

display a plurality of wager creation screens for the user, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item has an associated information area, wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, and wherein;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated racetrack option;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated race option; and

at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein the selectable horse options correspond to all available horses for a race to be run, and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated horse option; and

provide the user with an opportunity to use the interactive wagering application to place the wager.

108. A machine-readable medium for use in allowing users to place electronic wagers on races that are to be run, comprising machine program logic recorded thereon for:

displaying a plurality of wager creation screens for a user on a display, wherein the wager creation screens each include a plurality of interactive menu items, wherein each menu item has an associated information area, wherein the user creates a wager by selecting desired menu items on the wager creation screens, and wherein;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a racetrack selection screen in which the menu items are selectable racetrack options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated racetrack option;

at least one of the wager creation screens is a race selection screen in which the menu items are selectable race options and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated race option; and

at least one of the wager creation screens is a horse selection screen in which the menu items are selectable horse options, wherein the selectable horse options correspond to all available horses for a race to be run, and wherein each information area is located adjacent to its associated horse option; and

providing the user with an opportunity to place the wager.