Batch wagering is the current version of a computer wagering system based on brilliant mathematician Richard Epstein's 1967 book "The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic." Though obviously skeptical that such persons exist, Epstein starts with the assumption of an excellent dopester who can access the real probability, as opposed to the subjective probability of the crowd reflected in pari-mutuel odds, that particular horses will win a specific race. In other words, a handicapper who is good at identifying overlays.

Taking the takeout(15% in those days) & the differences between real & subjective probabilities of each horse into account, Epstein's 1st step is to identify which horses merit a bet. In other words, dutching.

Armed with that information, Epstein's next step, the groundbreaking one, was to determine mathematically exactly how much should be bet on each overlaid horse, taking into consideration each horse's existing odds & how much the dopester's bets will impact those odds. In order to do the calculation, one needs to know the amounts in the pools, which is why batch wagerers wait until the last possible second to make their bets.

The only widely available exotics when Epstein wrote his book were the dd & quinella. Reportedly, one of the big HK syndicates hired an American computer/math genius, at $1 million per, to adapt Epstein's formulas so that they could be used for the exotic bets offered there. Beyer wrote an article on the subject after a visit, wondering why no one in the US was pursuing a similar strategy. Not too long after that, the so-called "mystery man" from So. Dakota was reported to be using the strategy, after having been given direct access to the pools by a Susan Bala led outfit which has since been accused of engaging in tax & other fraud. Direct access to the pools was supposedly discontinued as an unfair advantage(esp for tris) shortly after Monarchos won the Fla Derby.

Batch wagering continues at tracks, such as those in Calif, which do not have a post time(as opposed to race start) cut-off for wagers made through the Lewiston,Me hub, which processes a lot of the volume from offshore rebate shops.

As hoarsehorseplayer indicates, the panel discussion at the HTA/TRA conference(which Stan Bergstein describes in today's form & which can also be seen at hta.robertscomnet.com) is very interesting. The general mgr of Tampa offers a fairly detailed explanation of his decision to deny the signal to rebate shops which permit batch wagering. A discussion of whether & to what extent his explanation makes sense will have to await another day.