After being under the radar for 26 years, Golden-Road.net’s staff unearthed a playing of Finish Line late in 2004; nearly a decade later, on April 3, 2014, video of its 10th playing was finally put online by, strangely enough, Wink Martindale.
The game essentially combined Give or Keep’s rules with Hurdles’ set. The set had a racetrack with prices on it; the starting line was $0, and the farther down the track you went, the higher the prices got. Also on the track were a finish line and a racehorse. As the price of each “given” small prize was revealed, the finish line would move that many dollars down the track; after it reached its final destination, the racehorse would move in correspondence to the prices of the “kept” prizes. The game was won if the horse got across the finish line.
Finish Line was retired due to mechanical problems. Bob stated years later in an interview that he disliked the game, although at the time he had neither a strong animal rights stance nor the sway to have the game pulled, and he “didn’t know enough about horse races to complain about” its theming before it was retired. After becoming both an animal rights activist and the show’s EP, Bob may have requested that episodes with Finish Line be marked not-for-rerun.
In either case, Finish Line likely would not have lasted long even if the game had functioned properly. Finish Line was played 16 times between Seasons 6 and 7. It is suspected it was created to be replacement for Give or Keep, and the retirement of Finish Line helped ensure that Give or Keep would last another 12 years.
Here’s the prize she’ll be playing for today: A New Jukebox! It’s a prize worth $1,995!And we’re going to play the Finish Line Game for that fantastic prize! In order for her to win this game, the horse must cross the Finish Line. How does he do that? Well, the contestant will be shown three pairs of prizes. She must select the one which she believes is more expensive of the two. The price of the one she selects will coincide with the distance the horse travels. The one left over will coincide with the how far down the track the Finish Line will be!Here’s the horse and jockey that will eventually cross the Finish Line…we hope!And here are our first two products!First, two pairs of shoes from Kinney Shoes.Next, caulk and other home improvement products from Red Devil.Which prize did you choose? The contestant has chosen the shoes, so the Finish Line will be moved the amount of the home improvement items. Let’s move that Finish Line!The Finish Line stops at 25, as the Home Improvement Products were $25. Do you suppose the shoes are worth more? We’ll find out soon. First we’ll get through the other prizes…Two more prizes for your choosing. Let’s look…A lovely spice rack……and a terrific waffle maker!That waffle maker was $29! The Finish Line is now at $54.Finally, here’s our last set of prizes.Oh boy! It’s a Snug Sack – an indoor lounging bag that’ll keep you warm when the temperature is down!Second, a furniture refinishing kit from Formby’s Furniture Car Products.She selected the Snug Sack. The Finish Line is moving to it’s final mark at 92. Incidentally, the contestant gets to keep any prizes she selected, regardless if she wins.Now, if the combination of the three remaining products add up to more than $92, she’s a winner. “GENTLEMEN, IT’S POST TIME!”Out the gates we go! The trumpets sound, the race music plays, and the audience is clapping along to help that horse cross the Finish Line!A little more than half way, we’ve found out that the shoes were $33…And the Spice Rack was $35! Add on the Snug Sack at $30 and she’s a winner!She’s a happy winner!The only thing that has changed over time is the color of his hair. Bob has been attracting the women for years!Bob says we’re off to commercial. She won this game despite making an incorrect choice between the Snug Sack and the Refinishing Kit!A really sharp picture of our host in front of a Finish Line win. Note the horse just across the Finish Line as well as the faint prices of the prizes lit up just behind Bob.
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