by Frank Angst

For the second time in six weeks, a prominent United States track has reported accepting wagers after the start of a race.

On Thursday, Aqueduct blamed equipment malfunctions for allowing wagering to continue on its first race for 35 seconds after the gates had opened. Track officials reported one winning daily double wager was made after the first race started. Total handle on the race, including daily double wagering, was $488,523.

“We know that only $81 came in on-track after the race went off, resulting in one winning daily double ticket that returned $11.40. However, we cannot tell what kind of late wagering, if any, was done off-site,” said New York Racing Association Chief Operating Officer Hal Handel. “The failure to end wagering at the proper time is absolutely unacceptable. We have conducted an internal investigation regarding the two malfunctions and will improve the process in both the steward’s stand and the tote room.”

According to the New York Racing Association, the stewards followed standard procedure, pressing a button to end wagering just as the first race was about to begin, but the stop order did not register in the pari-mutuel system. The back-up system in the tote room also malfunctioned, resulting in a delay of 35 seconds into the race, a six-furlong event run in 1:13.33. Favorite My Apology won the race and paid $3.70 to win after pressing the early pace.

With no real-time monitoring of wagering pools, extensive investigation would be required to determine how much money was bet and how many winning bets occurred off-track after the race’s start.

In December, Fair Grounds owner Churchill Downs Inc., Keeneland Race Course, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority investigated betting on the third race at Fair Grounds on November 25 after that track acknowledged pools were not closed at the race’s start.

Keeneland and the Kentucky Authority are involved because bettor Mike Maloney, based at Keeneland, noticed the problem. He outlined what happened from his perspective in a presentation at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s Symposium on Racing and Gaming.

Frank Angst is senior staff writer of Thoroughbred Times