Wagering Insecurity: Tote Monitoring In Racing Falling Behind To Bingo

[Andy Asaro]

https://www.paulickreport.com/horsep...hind-to-bingo/

Excerpt:

TIF asked former TRA boss Chris Scherf in 2021 if consolidating ownership of tote companies with racetracks, as was the case with AmTote and United Tote, made any noticeable difference.

“No. I don't think anyone perceived anything was going to change or be improved, and that's the way it played out.

“It made it easier getting the tote companies to the table a bit more regularly, but that's about it.”

During the period from the Fix Six scandal of 2002 through 2009, horseplayers increasingly questioned the ability of tote firms to secure betting as they witnessed the failings, making it all the more inexplicable that independent monitoring was rebuffed. Tote representatives said there were no such issues.

One professional horseplayer proved, and reported, that he could bet up to 50 seconds into the start of a race.

Coming Thursday, April 29: Part 6 – Proof

Miss a previous installment? Click on the links to read more.

Part 1 – Expectations https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wagering-insecurity-

Part 2 – Intertwined https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wagering-insecurity-

Part 3 – Volponi https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...security-part-

Part 4 - Confidence– https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...t-4-confidence

[Dave Schwartz]

Andy,

Thank you for that link.

All pretty sad, actually.

[VeryOldMan]

The first three links got truncated and are broken.

Got these from the bottom of Part 4, which did work:

Part 1

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...1-expectations

Part 2

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...-2-intertwined

Part 3

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...part-3-volponi

Part 4 (as above)

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...t-4-confidence

Part 5

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...y-part-5-bingo

[thaskalos]

When I submitted a post here a couple of years ago alleging past-posting...some bigshot who supposedly ran some obscure ADW outfit came here and chewed me out...letting me know how "uninformed" I was about the "behind-the-scenes" aspects of this game. Where is this bigshot NOW?

[iamt]

The quote is unclear but reads like the bet placed 50 seconds after jump was between 2002 and 2009?

[cj]

Originally Posted by iamt

The quote is unclear but reads like the bet placed 50 seconds after jump was between 2002 and 2009?

I'm still waiting for the meat on this bone, as most of this is already pretty well known. I'm hoping it is just the build up to something more juicy. That said, if something happened between 2002 and 2009, it doesn't sound like much has changed in the interim if anything at all, so it could be relevant.

[classhandicapper]

If the very best hackers can break into the systems of the very best technology, financial services, and government institutions, they can break into or cheat the tote system of an underfunded backwards industry like horse racing. And if they are that smart, they may also be smart enough to not get so greedy about it that they raise red flags like with the pick 6 case. However, there's a huge gap between saying it could be happening to proving it is being done.

[sharkey11]

this is a fun topic any one here rember the bell ringers?

[Andy Asaro]

Twitter

[cj]

Part 6 here:

https://racingthinktank.com/blog/wag...y-part-6-proof

[classhandicapper]

The sad thing is that there was past posting going on in harness racing as far back as the 70s and here were are 50 years later and we are still discussing the issue.

[Parkview_Pirate]

We live in an age where, as Jim Kunstler would say, "Eveything goes, and nothing matters." Rule of law has definitely taken a back seat to profits, and horse racing's integrity has always had some question marks.

The technology is available to make the wagering very secure, but the costs are a hurdle in today's competitive (err, degenerate) markets.

It's gotten to the point that it's difficult for me to bet on North American racing, and the only fair chance I have are in the co-mingled pools of South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. And it's not like they are pristine either.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

It's gotten to the point that it's difficult for me to bet on North American racing, and the only fair chance I have are in the co-mingled pools of South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. And it's not like they are pristine either.

I really wish I could get into some of that stuff, but you know the saying. I'm an old dog.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I really wish I could get into some of that stuff, but you know the saying. I'm an old dog.

... who doesn't like to start playing at 6:30am?
(3:30am on the west coast)

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

We live in an age where, as Jim Kunstler would say, "Eveything goes, and nothing matters." Rule of law has definitely taken a back seat to profits, and horse racing's integrity has always had some question marks.

The technology is available to make the wagering very secure, but the costs are a hurdle in today's competitive (err, degenerate) markets.

It's gotten to the point that it's difficult for me to bet on North American racing, and the only fair chance I have are in the co-mingled pools of South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. And it's not like they are pristine either.

I somehow got the impression that ALL the foreign racing featured co-mingled pools...and I recently became quite enamored with Australian racing. To the point where I invested considerable time studing some past-performances with speed figures which I found at Twinspires. And I created the sort of handicapping system which inspired me enough to make some fairly decent win wagers on those races. The thing that amazed me was that the odds of whichever horse I happened to wager upon would nosedive substantially on the tote board right after I bet it. I initially attributed this to my own handicapping expertise...which was obviously (or so I thought) focusing on the "live" horses that the 'smart money' was subsequently isolating upon. And then I checked the size of the wagering pools...only to discover that the subsequent betting action was all ME.