Big bettor says he bet on Fair Grounds race after start
by Ed DeRosa
Mike Maloney, a Keeneland Race Course-based "whale," or big bettor, who bets between $6-million and $12-million per year and as much as $10,000 on a single race, said Thursday at the Symposium on Racing and Gaming that on November 25 he bet on the third race at Fair Grounds Race Course after the race started.
The opportunity was brought to his attention when the race started, but he did not hear a beep from the mutuel machine indicating the race had been locked for wagering. Through a live teller Maloney said he then made four wagers that were similar to bets he already had made on the race. He said they were all losing tickets.
Jim Williams, director of communications for Keeneland, confirmed that Maloney was able to wager on the Fair Grounds race after the start. He said that Keeneland investigated the situation, and that the teller confirmed making the wagers for Maloney knowing that the race had already started.
Lenny Van Gilder, a spokesman for Fair Grounds, confirmed that wagering was not stopped when the race began. He said that the stop wagering mechanism the stewards use malfunctioned, and that the mutual manager stopped wagering 15 seconds after the race began.
Maloney said that he wagered well after that, saying that he was placing wagering at least a half-mile into the 1 1/16-mile race that 7-to-5 favorite Nakayama Kun won by 11 1/4 lengths after racing off the pace. Typically, past posting is said to benefit those who bet on front runners, but Good Offer at 4.20-to-1 faded to fifth in the six-horse field after going the opening half-mile in :47.85.
Van Gilder said that the stop wagering function worked on the next race and that Fair Grounds has not had any problems since. He did not know how much handle the race generated after the start.
The Symposium has played host to several discussions involving integrity and improving technology, two issues at the heart of past posting—long seen as an issue in racing with suspicious odds changes long into the running of a race often the norm.
"What would happen if this happened at Keno," Maloney said. "If someone could play a keno ticket after two balls were drawn, the gaming commission would close all the games until the casinos improved technology.
"The [racing] industry doesn't address this because it costs money and doesn't make money, but it hurts the pool and hurts the game. They don't care because they get their commission whether people win or lose."
For Fair Grounds part, Van Gilder emphasized that it was a one-time technical error rather than a breach of security.
Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times
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Hooper,
Since NY racing switched to the inner track, there has been several occasions where the odds have dropped on the leader(usually at the quarter). Two years ago a group of regulars at AQUEDUCT questioned Bill Nader who \"guaranteed\" that the late odds changes were due to late registration of bets coming from simulcast outlets.He assured us that no one was past posting.I believed Nader was sincere but computer geeks are wizards, so who knows.
As you correctly stated, any gaming authority would come down like a ton of bricks on this matter but since players are not organized and have no voice, things like this will continue.
Mike