Based on this piece from the DRF it looks like they've figured out the how. It's nice to know that the hacker was able to capitalize on a "built-in vulnerability" of the tote software. This obviously wasn't a one man operation, and goes far deeper than Saturday's bet.


DRF 10/30/02

...The pick six appears particularly vulnerable to computer manipulation because of the way data is transmitted from many different sources into commingled parimutuel pools. According to mutuel managers at prominent tracks, the information regarding the amounts of pick six wagers is transmitted the instant a wager is placed, BUT THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE BET, INCLUDING THE SPECIFIC HORSES THAT ARE BEING USED IS NOT TRANSMITTED UNTIL AFTER THE FOURTH RACE IS RUN IN THE PICK SIX SEQUENCE.


...According to some officials, the difference creates a window of opportunity - sometimes lasting up to 2 1/2 hours - in which data is being stored and when a computer expert or someone with access to the pools could manipulate specific bets. Since the actual numbers of the horses used in each bet do not have to be communicated to other sites until after the fourth race, the ideal way for a computer expert to rig a pick six bet at minimum cost would be to use the single-single-single-single-all-all ticket structure.

So when the winning Breeders' Cup pick six ticket came back too light, it instantly set off alarms.

"According to all the scam theorists I've talked to," said one official close to the investigation, "the money would go in at the right time, but the horses would not get selected until after the fourth leg has been run. That's exactly what we saw here."