# Episode 12 - Single Ball Horse Racing Games **Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2015-03-23 **Duration:** 6m 19s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-12-single-ball-horse-racing-games --- ## Analysis Nick Baldridge discusses single-ball horse racing games, a predecessor to bingo machines that Bally experimented with in the 1930s. He explains the mechanical differences between horse racing games and bingos, how they were designed to circumvent gambling device laws, and practical considerations for collectors evaluating these machines. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Before Bally got into bingos, they experimented with horse racing games — _Nick Baldridge, opening topic introduction_ - [HIGH] Horse racing games were condemned as gambling machines by law — _Nick Baldridge, discussing legal issues with single-ball games_ - [HIGH] Horse racing games have fewer moving parts than bingos because they only track a single ball position — _Nick Baldridge, explaining technical differences_ - [HIGH] Bally machines often featured five balls to circumvent single-shot gambling device laws—first four would be trapped and the fifth would determine the payout — _Nick Baldridge, describing legal workaround mechanism_ - [MEDIUM] Horse racing games have better artwork and back glass preservation compared to other older machines because fewer balls move over the playfield — _Nick Baldridge, based on personal observation of handful of machines_ - [HIGH] Horse racing games are heavy in the body but not in the head, especially when payout hoppers are installed — _Nick Baldridge, providing collector guidance_ ### Notable Quotes > "Before Bally got into bingos they experimented with horse racing games" > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~1:30 > _Core premise: establishes horse racing games as historical precursor to bingo machines_ > "the difference between a horse racing game and a bingo is that a bingo has a much more complex control unit and winner payout circuit than a horse race game... horse race game only has to know about a single ball" > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~2:30 > _Technical explanation of design differences_ > "So the way ballet got around this in certain jurisdictions and during certain time periods was to make it so that the machine actually had five balls and you would shoot the first four and they would be trapped at the top of the ball arch and then the fifth one would actually come down and fall into a particular hole" > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~4:00 > _Describes ingenious legal workaround mechanism for gambling restrictions_ > "I've only seen a handful of these in person, and I will say that the artwork seems to hold up very well on these games for some reason as well as the back glass" > — **Nick Baldridge**, ~5:00 > _Preservation observations based on collector experience_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Nick Baldridge | person | Host of 'For Amusement Only' EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; expert on vintage horse racing and bingo machines; podcast creator and content producer | | Bally | company | Major vintage pinball and gambling machine manufacturer; experimented with horse racing games in the 1930s before developing bingo machines | | Valley | company | Manufacturer that began producing horse racing games in the 1930s | | For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge; focuses on electromechanical and bingo pinball machines | | The Pinball Podcast | organization | Influential pinball podcast hosted by Don and Jeff; credited as inspiration for Nick Baldridge's podcast | | Spooky Pinball | organization | Modern pinball manufacturer whose EM dungeon segment discusses vintage United and Bally bingo machines | | Don | person | Co-host of The Pinball Podcast; credited for supporting Nick Baldridge's podcast work | | Jeff | person | Co-host of The Pinball Podcast; credited for supporting Nick Baldridge's podcast work | ### Topics - **Primary:** Single-ball horse racing games, Bingo machine history and design, Gambling device laws and legal workarounds, Electromechanical machine mechanics and design differences - **Secondary:** Vintage pinball collecting and evaluation, Pinball podcast community and collaboration, Machine preservation and artwork durability ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) ### Signals - **[historical_signal]** Detailed documentation of horse racing game design and their role as precursor to bingo machines in the 1930s (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge provides technical breakdown of single-ball vs multi-ball mechanics and explains how they differ from bingo machines - **[content_signal]** New podcast 'For Amusement Only' launched with strong early traction; rapid growth in first week (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge states podcast 'has only been up for a week and already we've seen a tremendous amount of interest and downloads' - **[community_signal]** Emerging community focus on EM and bingo machine preservation with limited existing coverage; Nick Baldridge and Spooky Pinball noted as only voices in space (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'He and I are some of the only ones talking about these wonderful machines' - **[regulatory_signal]** Single-ball horse racing games faced gambling device condemnation; Bally developed five-ball workaround to circumvent legal restrictions (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge explains how single-ball games were legally problematic and describes five-ball mechanical solution Bally implemented - **[restoration_signal]** Practical guidance for evaluating horse racing games: require schematics, note payout hopper weight, understand mechanical complexity (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge provides checklist for collectors: verify functionality, obtain schematics, account for weight distribution - **[collector_signal]** Horse racing games show exceptional artwork and back glass preservation compared to other vintage machines due to reduced playfield ball traffic (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge: 'the artwork seems to hold up very well on these games for some reason as well as the back glass... probably because there are fewer balls moving over the playfield' --- ## Transcript Welcome back to For Amusement Only, this is Nicholas Baldridge. Today I wanted to call out a few of my fellow pinball podcasters and thank them for their support. First of all, the Pinball Podcast. Without their efforts, I probably wouldn't be doing this. Thanks Don and Jeff. I've listened to them since their second episode and loved every minute of it. It's always fun and funny and interesting to listen to. Another is Spooky Pinball and specifically the EM dungeon segment. ...segments on United and Bally bingos. He and I are some of the only ones talking about these wonderful machines. And lastly, I wanted to thank all of you. This podcast has only been up for a week and already we've seen a tremendous amount of interest and downloads. I thank you all very much. It means a lot to me. So, for today, it's gonna be another mini topic and as I received a note on Facebook about horse racing games, I thought I take a minute to go over what exactly those are Before Bally got into bingos they experimented with horse racing games And as I mentioned in one of my bingo episodes these horse racing games were also condemned as gambling machines Some had payout hoppers installed, similar to Valley Slots as I mentioned. That was an aftermarket modification for a lot of bingos as well. Valley began manufacturing these horse racing games in the thirties and the difference between a horse racing game and a bingo is that a bingo has a much more complex control unit and winner payout circuit than a horse race game. horse race game only has to know about a single ball only has to know about the position of that single ball and therefore there are fewer moving parts than in a bingo not many fewer they're still very heavy another interesting differences that horse racing games contain all of the moving parts and the relays in the cabinet You take the front door off and you can slide out a table which contains its own little support leg that allows you to work on it This is a lot easier on the back than working in the back of a bingo or a pinball machine So what was the problem with these one ball games in the eyes of the law Well you only had one shot so you place your bets you choose if you were going to win place or show then you would shoot your ball and depending on which hole you landed in you would get a payout Now because you only had one shot it was much a lot of people think pinball is more like a gambling device than a bingo where you had multiple shots. So the way ballet got around this in certain jurisdictions and during certain time periods was to make it so that the machine actually had five balls and you would shoot the first four and they would be trapped at the top of the ball arch and then the fifth one would actually come down and fall into a particular hole and you'd get a payout or not. All the above are based on where it was. Pretty ingenious way to get around the limitation that the law imposed. Now I've only seen a handful of these in person, and I will say that the artwork seems to hold up very well on these games for some reason as well as the back glass. And probably because there are fewer balls moving over the playfield. Out Pinball The And normally on these older machines the back glasses will start to show signs of wear especially in a particular color another than the reds which see a little bit of wear the Glasses hold up remarkably well at least in the ones that I've seen What should you know if you go to look at a horse racing game? Well first of all you have to know if it works and they work similarly to bingos in that there are many moving parts and it's important to have the schematics I'm not certain if all the machines had manuals because they were making these back in the thirties but they should all have schematics the second thing to note is that these machines are very heavy however they're not heavy in the head they're heavy in the body and they have the payout hopper option installed which makes them incredibly happy so something to note before you go to pick one up well that's all for this time thank you for joining me on 4 amusement only this is Nicholas Baldridge you can reach me at 4 amusement only podcast at gmail dot com You can find us on iTunes, stitcher, pocketcasts or any other podcasting application. You can also find us online at for amusementonly.libsyn.com Thanks! _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 137fee64-d501-4be5-becc-c9e54d7f9c3c*