by Frank Angst

For at least the third time since November 25, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau is among those investigating a past-posting incident caused by a failure to terminate wagering after a race’s start.

Curtis Linnell, director of racing analysis for the TRPB, said the fourth race on June 28 at Philadelphia Park is under investigation because of possible past posting. The TRPB is seeing if wagers arrived from off-track locations, specifically Tampa Bay Downs, not only after the race began but also after it had been completed.

Typically, these problems have occurred when the host track fails to execute a stop-wagering command. Linnell is looking to see if there is evidence that the pools remained open even after the Philadelphia race ended, allowing bettors to wager on an outcome they just witnessed.

At least two Mid-Atlantic tracks experienced tote issues that day. After the problems with the fourth race, Philadelphia Park ran its fifth race as a non-betting race. Delaware Park ran its first five races on June 28 as non-betting races. Chris Sobocinski, Delaware Park’s racing information coordinator, said the main and backup systems for the track’s mutuel system simultaneously crashed. He said the problem originated from the Scientific Games data center in New Jersey.

Delaware was unable to accept wagers, post odds, or determine payouts in its first five races. The problem occurred about 15 minutes before the first race. The track refunded about $13,500 in early wagers on the first five races, most of that falling on the first two events. Delaware officials informed fans before the first race (and each of the non-betting races that followed) that it would be contested as a non-betting race with wagers refunded.

Noting that losing five races on a Saturday was a costly problem, Delaware Park General Manager Andrew Gentile said track officials would meet with Scientific Games representatives on July 11. A Scientific Games spokesman was not immediately prepared for comment on Monday afternoon.

Past posting occurs typically at simulcast outlets after wagering is not effectively halted at the host site, and it has become a hot-button issue since November 25 when betting windows remained open on a Fair Grounds race. Prominent Keeneland Race Course-based bettor Mike Maloney noted the problem as he was able to continue wagering after the race had started. The tote company for Fair Grounds is Scientific Games.

On January 3, a similar problem occurred at Aqueduct, which uses Youbet.com’s United Tote services. Jeff True, of United Tote, said besides two backup plans already in place, the tote company added procedural changes to prevent future problems. At Aqueduct, a steward is assigned to hit the stop-wagering button. When pressed, a light now flashes to indicate wagering has ceased.

A live event operator serves as backup. An emergency button was added to allow that operator to halt wagering. Still, True acknowledged that the human element makes it difficult to guarantee that wagering will properly be stopped 100% of the time.

In the November Fair Grounds incident and the January Aqueduct incident, the pool numbers did not indicate that a significant number of bettors realized wagering was still available. Some experts believe bettors may have taken advantage of the Philadelphia Park race.

In the six-furlong claiming race, Magical American established a clear lead early and cruised to a two-length score. Magical American was 5-to-1 on the morning line and paid 3.60-to-1 in the win pool.

While Philadelphia Park typically lists probable win odds during a race on its video, no odds were listed during the running of the fourth race that day because of the tote problems.

A Philadelphia Park spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Frank Angst is senior writer for Thoroughbred Times