Hermes - that's an interesting question but I think you have overestimated the value of novelty bets. They may make up 10% of the number of bets but most of them would only be a few dollars each - cant see too many people risking $100 on a horse just because the name is cute. Even if you had 1000 "novelty" bets of $5 each it would not mean a lot in a $100000 win pool. As you say the effect would be much greater in races like the Melbourne Cup - bet then a lot of serious punters avoid those races anyway.