A 15 second half mile would be awful quick...

He pulls the plug?

based on what I've read, that may not be too far from the truth

Little Brown Jug is known well for this around here. I was not the only one who watched a man place his wagers on a race AFTER the gates swung closed and the Pacers or Trotters were off. A good 15 seconds after the gates swung close.

In the old days when there was racing at the Goshen Harness track about 50 miles north of NYC, the windows closed for betting when the mutuel manager blew a whistle. Often the whistle didnt blow until the horses were already in the backstretch (it was a 1/2 mile track) some 20 seconds into the race.
Those were the days that taking 2/5 on a favorite with the lead was a steall.

Why are you so obsessed with what I say? Do you want me to call them and give them a quote? I will. At least I will state my true opinion on subjects unlike most in this industry. My opinion is that this was a malfunction. Simple. Get over it. If someone comes up with some information that this was done for an advantage or is happening more than once in a blue moon then I will say that there is a serious problem. There are many people here who feel that it is not an isolated incident. Fine that is thier opinion. If someone shows me something that backs that opinion up I will admit I underestimated the problem.

I would say that there are many more fixed races in this country than there are races with past posts. Think about that for a minute. Now there is a real problem.

At least we know you're uninvolved.;)

Been holding em for 2 years...I'll let you know...but dont get shut out!

Chuck I worked as a Teller for several months back a couple years ago. I speak regulary with many Tellers at my home track and have for years. If anyone should know about whether this is a problem or not it is a Teller at Beulah Park cause we have a large group of "gamblers" who play odds and numbers with 1 minute to post or less. They are shut out all the time.

Look, I sit at the same table when I am at the track which is right next to 2 Tellers who take a lot of action from the aforementioned players and in clear view of a dozen or more tv's. I don't see it as a crisis but rather an isolated incident that needs looked into.

That is the truest comment in this thread. They absolutely would adjust.

I wonder if Maloney was expecting this to happen and thus was ready to make his wagers after the race had started. I don't know how others do but whenever I'm in line to place my bet, I'm watching the monitor to see how much time I have. Almost without fail, I have a guy in front of me that takes 10 minutes to make a $2 win bet on a horse and I'm yelling out "come on!" When that last horse goes in, if I haven't gotten to the window, I turn away, figuring that I didn't make it. I wonder if Maloney was watching the race, saw that it had started and wagering hadn't closed and THEN went to try to take advantage or if he knew this was something that regularly happens and was already prepared to take advantage of it. My gut feeling tells me that if he or anyone else is still at the windows attempting to place bets up to 15 seconds after the start of a race, this is something that happens at other times and he was in position to try and take advantage.

I remember an incident at Arlington in the mid 80s. The gate opens and a 30-1 goes to the lead. A couple tellers realize the machines are still live. Tellers start betting. When the 30-1 shot who went to the lead crossed the wire in front, a near riot ensued when he was now 5-1 on the board. THey did catch the tellers but some real bad PR being the lead story on the 10 pm news. I've always been curious if they could skim some money off the top with late windows; as long as they weren't too greedy, they probably wouldn't get caught. What percentage of the time do payoffs go up from when the horses are loading into the gate? That percentage must be very low since so many winners get hit hard late.

As far as changing odds are concerned, it's only visible to the public if the money is bet in the Win pool... if it were placed in the exotic pools, all you would see would be surprisingly low payouts, which we do see all the time (although we can't be sure as to why).

I have really only been shut out of one bet that I absolutely wanted to make.. that was over a year ago, and it occurred when lightning struck the simulcast parlor, and the electricity went out with 7 minutes to post... came back on as they were loading.

Not an isolated incident
 

Dave Johnson (who was the moderator of the symposium) just said on his Sirius radio show that Mike Maloney claims that his specific story about betting after a race starts was NOT an isolated incident!

I know I wouldn't, King. Not unfrequently I like to see odds and wager up until the first few horses are entering the gate. And if there is a horse that won't load, gate problem, etc, I like to get a cancellation and nearly always try and get a cover wager in.

I really don't see this as huge problem in the sport. I understand why odds change as the horses are going down the backstretch. The last thing I think of is nefarious doings.

I deeply doubt it. He said he simply repeated wagers he had already constructed and made. If he knew it could come, I would think a reasonable person would have planned for this contingency and covered or had some reconstructed bets ready to place.

If I'm at the window as horses are about to go into the gate, trying to get bets down, I'm no longer watching the monitor as I did in line, I am watching the machine to ensure the teller is actually punching the correct numbers as I spell them out. And I'll keep reeling off the bets I want to make, until she tells me I can't. I can't do that, and watch the monitor, at the same time.

Fifteen seconds just isn't long enough for me to stand in front of the teller at the window, turn to watch the break on the monitor, consider what is unfolding, then tell her and have her place those reconstructed bets for me.

Maybe I'm just slow :rolleyes:

I haven't read the rest of the thread yet, I tend to start at the beginning. I must say this is a bullshit post. Why in the hell would bettors have any reason to believe it is a one time incident? It should never, ever happen. We've been told a million times it can't happen. I laughed every time I heard that.

If this is happening all the time why is this issue almost never discussed? If it is such a problem then why dont I ever hear about it happening? I hear all the time about every other bitch that people have in this industry a hundred times over but for such a major problem it seems like it is rarely mentioned.

Because it doesn't. One blowhard makes a statement saying he bet halfway through a race and everyones panties get into a twist. But it sounds to me like people now want to get shut out with 2 MTP.

you've never heard anyone complain about late odds changes?

the experience of a 4-1 shot taking an easy lead and crossing the finish line 5-2?

i can't remember when this wasn't something people talked about. and the answer is always the same. the wagering platform is secure and no one is getting bets in after the gate opens.