Whale's past post sets off alarm
 

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.... MORE:

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/nat...ter-start.aspx

“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.”

Would he rather they close the pools with 2 minutes to post? It was a one time isolated incident. Get over it.

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/nat...ter-start.aspx

The edge didn't help him
"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."

This is a non issue unless it is happening a lot or because someone is trying to gain an advantage by doing it. If those are the cases it is a big problem but that does not seem to be the case.

That's nonsense Chuck. It shouldn't be able to ever happen. And, the likelihood that if it happened this time that it doesn't happen other times is zero. Plus, perception is that it does happen, and that matters a great deal.

If they need to close the pools when the first horse is loaded then they should. People will learn to adjust. Any situation where the machines are open after the start is completely unacceptable.

I'd have to agree. Just because they didn't get burned, doesn't mean it wasn't a big deal.

As long as electronic technology exists there will be malfunctions. As I said if there are multiple malfunctions then it is a problem. But as long as it is an isolated occurence I cant say that it is a huge issue.

It is a big deal if it was done by someone trying to gain an advantage. Otherwise it is just an equipment malfunction. If you can show that the track had substandard or faulty equipment that would be an issue.

Out of curiosity, how does the stop wagering mechanism work? Is it linked to the starter's gate button? If not, shouldn't it be?

I think it's a big deal that it happenned period. It's an especially big deal if someone is using it to get an advantage.

It should never happen. Imagine seeing some wingnut cashing his ticket that you saw making the bet halfway through the race. Especially if he dropped 10k on it & brought your odds down.

Good question. I know growing up in Maine at the harness tracks the bell would never go off (shutting off betting) until horses were almost into the first turn. Huge advantage if you were betting trotters who had a propensity to break at the start

Airplane shouldnt crash and boats should not sink but accidents happen. Of course it shouldnt happen but malfunctions are things that will happen, just as computers crashing will happen. What can you do?

How difficult is it for you to understand that the tracks are trying to get every drop of handle that they can and the fact is that people bet at the last minute. I am not condoning it at all. But I can see the bitching now when you get shut out of a big score because they closed the windows a minute early, or there is a gate scratch that effects the race dramatically and you cant cancel your ticket or bet a last minute saver. I would think aggravation caused by closing the pools prematurely would far outweigh the aggrevation caused by the pools closing late once in a great while.

Agree with Chuck on this. There were numerous gate scratches at Saratoga this summer and at other tracks on a regular basis. Handle drives the game and having a favorite scratched at the gate after the windows closed would have a huge impact.

The only problem that I have with a first-horse loaded system would be gate issues.
I would hate for my play of the week to break through the gate or even fight the gate crew loading, and be stuck holding the ticket with no way to cancel.

The perception is that some people are wagering or cancelling late. It is a problem.

But what if there were 3 a year from a sample of 100000 races? Is that worth the handle lost and people pissed off? If you show me that this happens a lot then I think it is a big problem. But I have not heard it to be an issue except once every few years. The truth is that virtually noone knows if and when this happens. Is this happening alot?

**** happens..but this guy was no 2 buck bettor.. he fires and if he got in he would really mess up any payout at a regular track let alone a 2nd tier venue

it wont happen again..they say so.. bc pick 6 anyone?

the black box argument........

Not that i'm doubting Mike Maloney's claim to be a whale, but isn't there a big difference between betting $6 million or $12 million a year? Seems like a big range to me

Yeah but he bet a loser giving those who bet the winner more money.

small numbers to a player like Hooves..

It would be nice to know how often that it does happen...the appearance of more impropriety does not help the game.

I've decided that I'm OK with it, as long as people are only allowed to wager late on a losing horse.

Well it would also be ok if I (and only I) could get my bet in right up until they get to the sixteenth pole...

I still would have lost the BC Sprint this year...

We're talking about a few tickets entered a couple moments after the break - It's not like the guy watched the break, then figured out which horses he wanted and then started placing wagers - The bets were placed. In the grand scheme, really seems to me to be a non issue... Time to put away the tin foil hats - no conspiriacy here

He is claiming that they were a half mile into the race and he was still getting his tickets punched....give me that opportunity and I gotta believe that my win percentage would go up.

this time

if i had YOUR money id set mine on fire.....

my money is fire proof....all coins

And if it does then it may be an bigger issue than I am giving it credit for

Ooops...I read this part:

>>>Lenny Vangilder, 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.<<<


And glanced over this part:

>>>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<<< :o

And he still couldn't pick a winner :D

Seriously, You'd think it would be easy enough to figure out how often the system *hiccups*...

I heard his talk today, and he seemed to be using this as just an example. He also made the bets on the horse that he had already bet on, as to not gain an advantage.

Maloney has an overall concern about the security of the betting pools, and as just using this as an example, not an isolated event. He made alot of sense today...

I have witnessed a machine error before at an OTB. It allowed a certain exotic wager for a couple dollars less than it should have. Was a repeatable error and unique only to that machine and not the others.
I was very busy at the time, and I didn't exploit it or report it.
I wonder if months later that machine still does it?:eek: