Tote Outage

[capitalman]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

Had 3 of 4 in late p4 because of the cancellation of r12 and got a refund. Anyone know why they didn’t pay all in the last?

The math was too tough.

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by cj

I'm empty right now. I seems like horseplayers are constantly battling ineptitude at every turn and I'm worn down. And if a guy like me is worn down, what about more casual players?

This needs to be a turning point and not swept under the rug like so many things that have happened before it. The tote is the backboard of the industry and it needs a major overhaul. I'm about 99% sure the 11th will be declared an all race for the Pick 3/4/5 bets and it is total crap. The race was run and we have a winner.

This is 2024. I sent money to my daughters a few days ago via Venmo and 10 seconds later had thank you texts. But horse racing has continuous problems and we often don't see the actual final odds until horses are nearing the stretch. ENOUGH!

been my point for a long while, if they are losing people like you and me how in the heck could they attract, let alone keep, new people to the sport.

Beyond broke.

[Robert Fischer]

Sorry if I can't handle some facts!

[Redbullsnation]

Someone already said it but yeah. This has to be the worst run sport in the world. How does this even happen in 2024? Pathetic

[racenomics]

https://www.horseracingnation.com/ne...ing_outage_123

This guy Todd Roberts is a clown IMO. He has said that it hurts tracks them live streaming on YouTube or their web site. There are a few tracks out there STILL without HD, notably, Zia, Retama, and some of Sunland’s cameras. Why when I’m watching replays on a track web-site it it not full screen? This seems to be right in Robert’s wheelhouse.
Why do we need Robert’s? ADWs could just pick up the tracks live stream.

[classhandicapper]

What can you say at this point?

It's starting to feel like a problem without a good solution.

[wiretowire68]

A complete mess it caused, particularly in 2024. I did not read the whole thread but it kind of throws a wrench into tournament play at Horsetourneys. The disturbing understanding is the public is left completely in the dark. Also part of the complete quagmire was the #5 Waseiku, geez the horse is 3-1 fav. going off as they break, then he changes to 5/2 and then TVG "Todd Schrump" announces that it was 4-1, then they could not even put up the photo with Domestic Spending, no inquiry as he came out and bumped the 9 horse. I agree, why is the most exciting sport in the world being left in the dust.

[1st time lasix]

Just when you thought racing couldn’t be embarrassed any further… the antiquated tote system fails…. Hope they sue or at least force the privets to update the entire works. It’s pathetic,

[garyscpa]

Originally Posted by wiretowire68

A complete mess it caused, particularly in 2024. I did not read the whole thread but it kind of throws a wrench into tournament play at Horsetourneys. The disturbing understanding is the public is left completely in the dark. Also part of the complete quagmire was the #5 Waseiku, geez the horse is 3-1 fav. going off as they break, then he changes to 5/2 and then TVG "Todd Schrump" announces that it was 4-1, then they could not even put up the photo with Domestic Spending, no inquiry as he came out and bumped the 9 horse. I agree, why is the most exciting sport in the world being left in the dust.

And how much does Horsetourneys contribute to the pool?

[baconswitchfarm]

Originally Posted by racenomics

https://www.horseracingnation.com/ne...ing_outage_123

This guy Todd Roberts is a clown IMO.

A pure scumbag of the grandest magnitude.

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by cj

I'm empty right now. I seems like horseplayers are constantly battling ineptitude at every turn and I'm worn down. And if a guy like me is worn down, what about more casual players?

It's tough for sure, especially if you had keyed into some nice winners and got the "ALL" or refund or shut-out instead.

I don't believe root cause of the outage has been specifically identified, but RCN is on record stating their primary and backup connections failed. As a retired IT weenie with much of my career in data protection and disaster recovery, the last company I worked for had no less than four network providers to utilize, as an outage of more than a few minutes starting adding up losses pretty fast.

My point is that many businesses rely on a 100% availability of electricity and the Internet, and often don't prepare for even common problems. Today that can get extremely expensive to maintain, and racing is certainly a business that's already on life support - with much of the slack and resilience already removed from the system to save money and/or stay in business. If some tech making $17/hr implements a switch firmware update that goes sideways, getting screwed out of some racing profits is well down the list of the seriousness of the unintended consequences.

We live in an age of decline. Having two ADW accounts on Derby Day or a backup generator during an ice storm ain't gonna get it done with more outages and degraded quality in services becoming more frequent. Buckle up.

[ScottJ]

If the AmTote infrastructure continued to operate (and that is a very big "if"), a communication outage (even the outage of a redundant line) should never have compromised the underlying pool data already collected. The bets that were already in the pools at the point of the outage should stand. The first rule in real-time communications - always save the known valid state. Therefore, it must be the case that the pool states could not be validated (meaning they were corrupted) immediately upon the communications failure. How is that possible?

I spent twenty years developing real-time software for financial technology clients involving information terminals, dealing and matching applications, and trade execution - software where the difference of less than 100 milliseconds in distribution could be exploited in arbitrage creating an unlevel playing field. Trillion dollar businesses require that type of infrastructure and security.

The screaming over infrastructure quality in the tote business is like asking for a Mercedes on a Ford Pinto budget. Total pari-mutuel handle in 2023 was on the order of $12 Billion. Wall Street transacts approximately $300 Billion PER DAY.

The AmTote world dates back decades to ownership by General Instrument in the 1980s. It is completely unclear whether serious real-time designers have been on the inside of this infrastructure, based on rotating ownership teams, over the last 20 years.

There are only a very few ways to move this infrastructure forward. One would be for a much larger tote operator to absorb (and change) the business such as the HKJC which has its own risks politically. Second would be for a real-time operator in the fintech space to buy the business. This might happen with the explosion of sports betting. However, a complete revamp of the infrastructure in light of flat total revenues will not happen.

[See : https://www.jockeyclub.com/default.a...ion=FB&area=8]

In my view, the biggest risk to the totalizator infrastructure is a cybersecurity breach that goes undetected for a period of time.

[Bullet Plane]

According to a TDN article by Bill Finley. Tampa Bay Downs took a hit of 4.5 million in lost revenue due to the downed tote system. And they receive no slot or casino revenue. It was a devastating loss and they want an investigation. This is the second time the system has failed in the last couple of months. The fanduel episode of betting anomalies just happened a month or two ago.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Bullet Plane

According to a TDN article by Bill Finley. Tampa Bay Downs took a hit of 4.5 million in lost revenue due to the downed tote system. And they receive no slot or casino revenue. It was a devastating loss and they want an investigation. This is the second time the system has failed in the last couple of months. The fanduel episode of betting anomalies just happened a month or two ago.

Lost handle, not revenue.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by the little guy

Lost handle, not revenue.

Important clarification. Still, they absolutely have a right to be pissed and to demand an investigation.