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Monday, December 2, 2013

Explanation Please

According to a report on Racingbeard.com something seemed unusual regarding the exacta payoff in the seventh race at Yonkers Raceway on Friday night.  The 8-3 exacta which had a 33.75-1 longshot on top of a 9.20-1 horse paid a shockingly low $85.00 while the triple paid $5,702.00 (with a 15.00-1 horse finishing third).

To give you an idea how weird this payoff was, an 8-1 exacta with the winner on top of the 1.75-1 favorite who finished seventh would have paid about $131.00 for a dollar.  

Now to be fair, it should be noted that the race winner, Fort Valley AS, won the week before as a favorite but was moving up in company.  The second place finisher, Elin also won the week before and moved up though the move up was not as dramatic as Fort Valley AS, so there could be something said for wagering on them, especially being they were the only two who won the week before.  While a case could be made for these two horses, being three horses dropped out of the Open Handicap, and the winner moved out to the dreaded eight hole, one would have figured the exacta would have still resulted in a triple digit payout. 

I'm making no accusations, as the payoff may be legitimately explained (see above), but it will be interesting to see what Yonkers Raceway and/or the NYGC will say about this race. The horseplayers which wager on Yonkers deserve a response, either an explanation that the payoff, while unusually low, is legitimate or the race is being further investigated.

But this is not just about Yonkers Raceway.  Anytime an unusual payoff comes up, there should be an explanation.  Silence is not acceptable as it fosters the idea that management and regulators don't care what is happening and if they don't care, why should gamblers feel comfortable wagering on the horses?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's VERY simple. The 1st and 2nd finishers were the only two leavers, and there are guys in KY that do nothing but make "gate calls" on races like this. Where they play, the track receives a LIVE feed, rather than the 7-8 second delay experienced by players everywhere else. These guys represent a fair percentage of the handle so simply cutting them off isn't an automatic option; but when two longshots leave the gate and DO finish 1-2, the embarrassingly low payoffs ARE a concern. In a way, they are much like the Meadowlands cartel which adds to handle, but hurts "regular" players, overall.

That Blog Guy said...

Well, assuming you are correct about the Kentucky group (I have no knowledge either way about such a group), that could explain it. I will seek to get further clarification.

jlb said...

If your first commenter is correct (and I have seen this explanation offered on other forums), and if the Kentucky track is the Red Mile, then that storied track is involved in 1) this disgrace-why they get a live feed, not a delay, is to be questioned, 2) the unjustifiable DQ of Odds On Eq. last year, and 3) the ill-advised comments by one of their stewards concerning kicking "non-violations" by Tim Tetrick, later retracted.

edge1124 said...

With Yonkers you never know and I think it is possible for this type of questionable payoff to happen once in awhile at this track...I have never witnessed so many horses at a track be bet down favourite when they clearly look no better than 5-1. And you go to the ODDS pool and see $3,000 or $4,000 bet in the win pool on such a horse...it is not like they have $250 bet on them...I sometimes do not understand how the gamblers playing Yonkers bet who they bet down as false favourites sometimes...sure you get many favourites win there but then you get that payoff where you cant believe the price like $60 bucks on a horse that should be under $20. I missed the exactor cause I bet him in the pk 4 and won $1420 for my efforts. Had I bet the exactor I would have been peeved at the payout. Lets say someone did bet $200 on that combo right out of the gate or 4 ppl each bet a $50 exactor. If you take that $200 exactor off the pool total...then I think the exactor would have paid about $150 but still based on the prices that is still too low. #1 horse should not have been the favourite and he did break on final turn but I doubt he would have come 2nd anyway...plus there were only 3 horses with their noses on the gate when it left...that looks fishy but again because I see many false favourites at this track I can easily see an under priced exactor...this $85 one is a bit low I do agree...$150 would have been more reasonable but based on win price not so acceptable. This is why betting on Yonkers is a double edged sword...it has its positives and negatives but for me I am not a big fan of the style of racing or the types of horses that win when they do...but I still bet it because I am a gambler haha.

That Blog Guy said...

I personally am not aware of how anyone can receive a feed that is live when others are getting a delay. Perhaps on track at YR, but there has to be some type of delay in transmitting signals to any remote location.

Anonymous said...

The Red Mile pays extra to receive their feed on the C-Band (direct signal) as opposed to everybody else, who use the Roberts feed (with the 7-8 second delay). Of course, you can play the "live feed" right at Yonkers as well.

Anonymous said...

A must read article from the USTA website. The timing is ironic.
http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/templates/article.aspx?articleid=56907&zoneid=29

Anonymous said...

There used to be a team of bell-ringers at Dover. They would call the two numbers they thought would leave. The teller would key in the numbers and wait for them to signal to print. If they both had noses on the gate they would yell go and the teller would hit print. They did not always punch the ticket.

I saw them one night hit a good one early at Pompano. They raised their stakes and were done after a few more races.

Unknown said...

Stop these excuses for an outright robbery. The information came from the paddock, via cell phone, tablet, or laptop. It went to the waiting scumbags who bet for these driver/trainers. Start with Stalbaum and work on down. Have the gaming commission trace the metadata. Forget the Red Mile. Look to Northville Downs, or the like. It isn't enough that the purses are large enough so these guys don't need to cheat. They HAVE to steal. It's inbred in this "sport". Drugs injected into the animals, so the vets and drug companies need personal money vaults. Drivers work together. Owners and trainers are taken care of, as long as they go along. Sears knew something was up in this race, he can't afford to be involved. He took his horse out early, and no suspicions on him. The other also rans, followed the plan. The guy that made the phone call to his bettor will go on the crap line, for a few races. Then deja vu.
The taxing authorities, Yonkers, the gaming commission are in fear of these type payoffs. Instead of busting these bums, they will close their eyes, and let the drivers police themselves. If a slot machine spins out big jackpot, then spits out two pennies, the yellow tape would go up. It would read crime scene, stay out. There would be hundreds of investigators, checking workers, cameras, cell phone records, etc.
This isn't a joke for people to excuse this theft. The taxing authorities are accepting stolen money. Mums the word.
Great name for a horse, for this "SPORT".

That Blog Guy said...

I am closing this entry to posts but don't worry, you will have your chance in a new entry upcoming shortly.