The Fix Six

[Bruddah]

Personally, I think this "Fix Six" is the perfect opportunity for the betting fans to get a point across. If we as a group declared one specific day as a no bet day and spread the news across the internet, we could show the quasi "racing establishment/management" what an impact we can make. Just one day out of a deginerate gambler/handicapper's life.

If something like this isn't done, then the good old boys of racing will continue to "molly coddle" the fans and blow smoke up our collective south end zones.

Who will vote for a strike for one betting day? Personally, I vote for December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day.

If you are in favor spread the word on the net and with your degenerate/handicapping friends. Isn't that how we are treated?

[freeneasy]

degenerate/ handicapping ?
I resemble that er, er resent that
personally Iam all for it. It can be done and on a wide scale basis as well, but its not just an overnite thing. movements on that type scale take time, planning, organization, promotions aggreements, cooperation, dedication and money. And thats just to shut one track out for a single day let alone a nationwide shutout.
But boy let me tell you, you'd have one hell of a powerful union. Money is power but the one who controls the power over that money is the winner, top draw man, king dog.
If a union was that powerful to be able to exocise enough control over the betting public and use that control to stop bets from going into a certain track or all tracks for any lenght of time be it a day or a week, a movement of such magnitude would economically force the tracks into whatever form of submission the betting public is demanding of them.
A long time ago there was a protest movement at Santa Anita, I forgot what it was about, but I remember it worked and it did make a difference and the track saw the effect that a body of determined patrons can have when made to stand as one and I also remember it was at least a month or two in the planning. It works and Iam for it and if you know where to start, have at it

[rrbauer]

freeneasy wrote:
A long time ago there was a protest movement at Santa Anita, I forgot what it was about, but I remember it worked and it did make a difference and the track saw the effect that a body of determined patrons can have when made to stand as one and I also remember it was at least a month or two in the planning. It works and Iam for it and if you know where to start, have at it

The Santa Anita thing was the culmination of a long and extensive letter-writing and DRF ad campaign put on by Roger Newell that I participated in as far as the letter writing and I paid the bill for the "picket" signs we used at SA. Basically, we went after SA because of their arrogance and refusal to allow $2 exactas ($5 minimum) and the lack of a "free" results line (they had a "900" number) plus some other stuff that I don't recall the details. Anyway, Roger did get some meetings with the SA brass after (they about crapped when about 50 of us showed up at the different parking-lot entrances with picket signs) that and eventually they capitulated on the exacta thing and we got a free scratch/results line.

Meantime, Roger sought and got an audience with R D Hubbard who had just taken over Hollywood and eventually convinced Hubbard that he (Roger) would make a dynamite advocate for horseplayers on the HOL staff and RD bought it and hired him. When RD left Hollywood, so did Roger. Roger's claim to fame there was setting up the bet-runner operation in the turf club and club house. (And, getting me comped to TC credentials whenever I wanted them!)

I've often thought that a couple mass "stay away" days in the course of a year would get some attention, but it does need to be planned and there needs to be a specific agenda as to what we're pissed off about and want changed. I've also thought that taking a couple bus loads of folks to one of the CHRB meetings would get them a little excited, too.

Anyway, if someone wants to work on something I'll support it and even contribute some time towards organizing it. But, I'm not going to waste a lot of time if only two other guys are interested. That has always been the case. Everybody talks a better game than they play and I just don't have the energy for a lot of false starts anymore.

[Bruddah]

The real key to this will be to talk it up everyday until Dec 7th. This will be like a snowball rolling downhill. Starting small and gaining momentum. If it can be done this time then racing management may start listening to us. If not, then they will laugh at us and ignore us as usual. I for one, hate to have my pleas unanswered and ignored.

I have read all the bitching on this site and others about how management won't listen, the Fix Six complaints, prganized protests and more. In general letting off steam and bitching. Well, here is a way you don't have to join anything, send money to or belong. It's better than sending an email complaint or any other form of protest. It sends a message to racing management in terms they understand...$$$$$$ and you do it by not doing anything on December 7yh Pearl Harbor day.

An old adage applies here ladies and gentlemen.... Don't Put Up or Shut Up on Pearl Harbor Day!!!!!

[smf]

I just went by the equisim site and read a post (by a Mike Moore) that finally made sense on the subject. Why should anyone boycott tracks or "quasi racing management/ establishment" when the perpetrators aren't associated with tracks? It was a small, tight knit group of Frat brothers that screwed over p6 bettors. I personally won't penalize Sam Houston, Fairgrounds, etc for something they had no part of.

Seems to me that there is movement now to look into improprieties. Why not let the tracks, ntra, and the legal authorities do their jobs on the matter, then boycott if things don't work out the way you like? Right now I don't see a good reason to boycott.

[Figman]

Here is the latest of what is expected to hapen today:


Guilty Plea Expected in Betting Fraud
By JOE DRAPE - NY TIMES


Chris Harn, one of three men charged with manipulating computerized bets and nearly walking away with a $3 million payoff at last month's Breeders' Cup, will plead guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and computer fraud and one count of money laundering, people briefed on the negotiations say.

These people said that as part of the plea agreement Harn would disclose a separate betting scheme in which he and the two other men fraudulently collected up to $100,000 in the past year by creating counterfeit copies of winning tickets that had never been cashed by bettors.

Harn, who was fired on Oct. 31 from his job as a senior programmer with Autotote, the company that processed the wagers in question, will appear at Federal District Court in White Plains at 9 a.m. today to offer his plea. His cooperation could lessen his sentence in the Breeders' Cup case, which can be up to six years.

Later in the morning, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, officials from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association will appear with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and announce that the industry has hired Giuliani's consulting firm to lead a review of large racetrack payoffs around the nation, racing officials said.

Last week in a seven-page criminal complaint, federal prosecutors laid out their evidence against the three men: Harn of Newark, Del.; Derrick Davis of Baltimore, who held the winning Breeders' Cup tickets; and Glen DaSilva of New York. The complaint said the men, who are all 29 and knew one another from their days as members of a fraternity at Drexel University, had used telephone betting accounts and computer access to manipulate bets after they were made so that they were guaranteed to win.

The complaint did not, however, outline what is said to be a scheme that revolved around Harn's access at Autotote to a catalog of uncashed betting tickets and vouchers:

¶For the past year, Harn was able to graft the bar code from uncashed tickets onto a test ticket used at Autotote for maintenance or repair. Harn then distributed them to Davis and DaSilva, who would insert them in the automated betting machines at racetracks and receive a betting voucher. They would avoid taking the initial counterfeit tickets to a betting clerk because of the unusual appearance of the altered test ticket.

¶The men might make a small bet off the voucher but would eventually take it to a clerk, who would pay off the balance in cash. It was a painstaking scheme that required frequent trips to thoroughbred and harness tracks like Aqueduct, Philadelphia Park, Monmouth Park and Freehold. The men avoided high-payoff tickets that required any I.R.S. paperwork, careful not to arouse suspicion.

There are many reasons that tickets remain uncashed. Bettors may lose them or forget about them, or they may keep them with the intention of cashing them later. Sometimes a horse may be scratched from a race and a bettor may not be aware, or around, to collect his refund. Laws may vary among states, but once a mutuel ticket is purchased it is usually redeemable for a year.

Industry officials put the value of uncashed tickets in the millions of dollars. In 2000 in Illinois, for example, more than $4.5 million in winning parimutuel tickets remained uncashed, state racing officials said.

Illinois racing officials released that figure in the wake of an inquiry into the alleged theft of as much as $1 million in uncashed winning tickets by personnel at Arlington Park. No charges were filed, but it was emblematic of what many industry officials have believed is a more common example of racetrack chicanery that depends on having a willing clerk enter the code of a forgotten ticket into a betting machine.

The hiring of Giuliani Partners has been in the works since shortly after the investigation began into the pick six at the Breeders' Cup, which was held on Oct. 26 at Arlington Park outside Chicago. Suspicions were aroused after it turned out that the only six winning tickets were held by Davis, who had placed his bets using a touch-tone telephone with an Off-Track Betting site in Catskill, N.Y. The investigation led to charges against the three men and exposed vulnerability in the computer systems that handle more than $14.5 billion in North American wagers annually. It also undermined confidence in the sport.

Giuliani's firm will work with racetracks and tote companies to install more vigorous security systems, racing officials said, and will manage the efforts of the industry to root out more intricate and high-tech crimes and to ensure that racing's computer systems cannot be breached internally or by computer hacking. It is not clear how far back the inquiry into large payoffs will extend.

Giuliani formed his consulting firm with members of his inner circle from City Hall upon leaving office at the end of last year. Giuliani Partners has undertaken several projects in its first year, with somewhat of a focus on security matters and risk management.

The three men accused were each charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud last week and released on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond. Earlier in October at two other tracks, DaSilva placed winning bets that had a configuration similar to the disputed Breeders' Cup tickets. Those bets, investigators said, might have been a dry run for the Breeders' Cup. DaSilva collected on his tickets, but the Breeders' Cup payoff has been held up.

To win a pick six, a bettor must choose the winner of six consecutive races. It is a highly popular and potentially lucrative wager. To have a good chance, a bettor must pick more than one horse in all six races, even though that means a single pick-six ticket can cost hundreds of dollars. Davis's tickets, however, picked just one horse to win each of the first four races.

[so.cal.fan]

"¶For the past year, Harn was able to graft the bar code from uncashed tickets onto a test ticket used at Autotote for maintenance or repair. Harn then distributed them to Davis and DaSilva, who would insert them in the automated betting machines at racetracks and receive a betting voucher. They would avoid taking the initial counterfeit tickets to a betting clerk because of the unusual appearance of the altered test ticket".


Well, they are HISTORY now.........cheating lowly horseplayers is one thing......but stealing from the STATE????????
Death penalty here.
:eek:

[rrbauer]

Getting Harn to roll was the only way they could get the other two guys, especially DaSilva. Article is in NY Times under sports if you're registered there. There's going to be a nice payday for the folks that had 5 winners the honest way!

Regarding Dec 7, "Pearl Harbor" day, I'll be at Santa Anita as an extra in the Seabiscuit movie.....I haven't placed a bet since November 2 and will not place one until the Autotote network gets a huge enema and third-party certification that it is secure. That hurts a little because the Hollywood fall meet is usually one of my more profitable venues....but, you oughta see my backyard!

[rrbauer]

One more quote from the NY Times:

"At his 40-minute court appearance Wednesday, Harn acknowledged using money made with other manipulated tickets to pay off a car loan and a second mortgage on his house. The scam began a year ago, he said."

Comment:
Now, for all of those who have been stating that this was a one-time, isolated instance....you had better wake the hell up. The Autotote network is a big juicy plum just begging to be picked.

[ranchwest]

Well, at least now they can examine what Harn did and work on patching the holes that allowed him access. Unfortunately, there's nothing quite like a good example.

[Bruddah]

Racing Management is laughing because all they have to do is tell you degenerate gamblers everything is ok now. They can go back to ignoring you in all other ways because you can't agree on a horse, how are you ever going to be effective enough to force them to do anything. I just love all the winers and moaners that can't stay away from the betting windows for one day but yet go onto a BB and bitch.

Please, will soneone tell George W. to surrender to the terrorists because the people in this country or a soft and pathetic bunch of do nothing winers.

[Figman]

Another interesting "Fix-Six" article from the home town paper where the NYS Racing Board has its main offices.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=74521&category=MATTGRAVES&BCCode=SP&newsdate=11/20/2002

[smf]

Originally posted by so.cal.fan
"¶For the past year, Harn was able to graft the bar code from uncashed tickets onto a test ticket used at Autotote for maintenance or repair. Harn then distributed them to Davis and DaSilva, who would insert them in the automated betting machines at racetracks and receive a betting voucher. They would avoid taking the initial counterfeit tickets to a betting clerk because of the unusual appearance of the altered test ticket".


Well, they are HISTORY now.........cheating lowly horseplayers is one thing......but stealing from the STATE????????
Death penalty here.
:eek:

Awesome! One of these clowns cracked under pressure. The case might have been tough to prosecute had they just clammed up and said nothing. It's a done deal, now, they're heading to the pen.

As long as racing is looking into new ways to prevent chit like this from happening down the road, I'll be a happy degenerate and bet 4 or 5 days per week :)