NEWS
Charles Town shorts winning players on superfecta
Posted: Thursday, October 09, 2008 5:24 PM
by Frank Angst
Mike Shields no longer cashes winning tickets on Charles Town Races until he double-checks official results at Equibase.com.
A mistake on a superfecta payout at the West Virginia track has caused Shields to lose trust in the seemingly basic process of tracks returning the proper payouts to players. Shields said the Virginia simulcast outlet where he placed the bet and Charles Town both compounded the mistake by offering him poor customer service.
On August 16, Shields placed a superfecta wager on the eighth race at Charles Town that came in 6-7-1A-1-4.
West Virginia, like most states, dictates that when an entry or mutuel field accounts for multiple places in a multi-horse wager, the winning payout carries to the next placing. In this case, the entry finished third and fourth, so the superfecta pays out to the fifth-place horse. Thus, the winning combination was 6-7-1-4. Shields left the off-track outlet early that day and did not see the race. The next day, he placed his ticket in a self-serve terminal and was pleased to see the wager paid $97.
His satisfaction lasted until the following day when he checked charts at Equibase.com and Shields noticed his payout was based on a winning combination of 6-7-1-all, which is a consolation payout awarded when no player correctly selects the top four finishers. Shields knows that he had the correct combination, so if he were the only winner then he should have received the entire pool less takeout.
The track acknowledges the payout was incorrect. Charles Town General Manager Dickie Moore said the placing judges at the track gave the tote employee the correct superfecta horses, listing the top five places. Moore said the tote employee did not know to base the superfecta payout on the fifth-place horse because the entry finished third and fourth. Instead he assigned the incorrect “all” designation.
Jeff True, president of United Tote, disputes that version of the events, explaining that the track is responsible for listing and paying the correct winning combinations. West Virginia law lists the racetrack, not the tote company, as the responsible party when underpayments to patrons occur.
“We are going to work with Charles Town on two or three things to make sure that in the future customers are paid the proper amount,” True said. “But the laws are very clear on this issue. It’s the track’s responsibility.”
True said United Tote is working with the track to prevent future mistakes but the tote company would accept no liability for the incorrect payouts. He noted that the track had a mutuel employee assigned to review all payouts before posting them as official.
Denny Wright, the chief steward at Charles Town, said exactly where the mistake occurred was being investigated.
Moore said the track has contacted players based at the track about the mistake but he did not mention off-site players. Shields said players who kept their tickets have been paid, “about $260,” based on what the correct payout should have been. Shields said since cashing his ticket, officials at the off-track outlet and Charles Town have not worked with him to correct the problem.
“I can live without the small amount of money, I just don't like the cover-up,” Shields said. “Once I cashed the ticket, I had trust that I had been paid correctly. Now, every time I make a wager and don't get to watch the race, I take the tickets home, look at the Equibase Chart and watch the race online. I shouldn't have to do that in order to know that I'm getting treated fairly.
“Why should customers have to look over the officials’ backs, to make sure we aren't getting ripped off?”
While Shields lives near Charles Town, he said he is considering focusing his energy on a different track. He noted a 2006 mistake by placing judges who misread a win photo at Charles Town. The placing eventually was changed for purposes of purse money but bettors were stuck with the mistake.
Shields said since he cashed his “consolation” ticket at the Richmond simulcast outlet, he does not expect a refund. He is frustrated with problems with racing’s pari-mutuel pools in general and is not confident the proper safeguards are being followed at Charles Town.
“How can this happen?” Shields questioned. “Are their officials that incompetent about the rules of racing that they didn’t know you couldn’t pay the one horse twice in a superfecta combination? The public puts our confidence into the product and this is what we get.”
Frank Angst is a senior writer of Thoroughbred Times
