So That's How He Did It (1352 Views)
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HP (IP Logged)
Date: October 28, 2002 06:19PM
For your amusement, from drf.com
BC pick 6 inquiry launched
By MATT HEGARTY
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board has launched a formal inquiry into winning Breeders' Cup Pick 6 bets placed through Catskill Off-Track Betting Corporation, board officials said Monday.
One bettor, making telephone wagers through Catskill OTB's account wagering service, bought all six winning tickets on the Breeders' Cup pick 6, according to board officials. Each winning ticket was worth $428,392 plus consolation payoffs for selecting five winners. The total value of the tickets is well more than $2.5 million.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the tickets have been cashed.
According to several officials, the winning wagers were included on one ticket that picked only one horse in each of the first four races of the Pick 6 sequence at Arlington Park on Saturday, including two longshots, and then used the entire fields in the last two races.
"It is an unusual circumstance that you would want to look at no matter where it happened," said Stacy Clifford, a spokeswoman for the New York Racing and Wagering Board. "We're looking at the entire situation."
Tim Smith, the commissioner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and D.G. Van Clief, the president of Breeders' Cup, co-signed a letter sent to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board on Monday requesting an investigation into the wager.
The two groups jointly operate the Breeders' Cup program, including all wagering.
"We request your immediate attention in this matter and offer our full assistance in the investigation," the letter said.
According to officials, the investigation will focus on whether the bettor was able to past post his wagers, or submit his wagers after the running of one or more Breeders' Cup races.
Donald Groth, the chairman of Catskill OTB, which is in upstate New York, said that the winning bettor is a 29-year-old Maryland resident who placed the wagers by phone. The bettor has requested anonymity, Groth said. He said that "there is nothing to indicate that this was anything but a very good day for our customer."
"I know why you're suspicious, but that's not my job," Groth said. "I'm familiar enough with the customer that I believe this is legitimate."
Groth said that he has personally checked the time stamps for the telephone calls in which the pick six wagers were placed. "They were all placed beforehand," he said.
Investigators, however, said they believed the tickets were not submitted until after the Juvenile was run at 3:25 p.m. Central time. Pick 6 wagers were required to be placed before the fifth race, which went off at 1:37 p.m. Central time.
The winner of the first leg of the pick six, the Mile, was Domedriver, who paid $54. The second leg, the Sprint, was won by the favorite, Orientate ($7.40), and the third leg, the Filly and Mare Turf, was won by Starine, who paid $28.40. The winner of the fourth leg, the Juvenile, was Vindication, who paid $10.20.
The pick six was filled out by High Chapparal, the 9-10 favorite in the Turf, and longshot Volponi, who paid $89 as the longest shot on the board and highest priced winner of the day.