Columnist Ralph Siraco: Probe brings changes to betting industry

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Nov. 11, 2002 | 9:32 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

To say the racing industry is moving swiftly on the Breeders' Cup pick six scandal would be putting it mildly. But to some it may not be moving quickly enough.

We are now over two weeks removed from horse racing's biggest day of racing, and it's biggest problem. The image and integrity of the sport's betting process came crashing down when it was learned there may have been a breach of security in the pari-mutuel wagering system -- the industry's lifeline.

Investigators are still uncovering evidence and suspected associates of a gentleman who placed all six of the winning Ultra Pick Six tickets on the Oct. 26 Breeders' Cup that was held at Arlington Park near Chicago.

Derrick Davis, who placed the suspiciously constructed Breeders' Cup pick six ticket over a phone account issued by the Catskill NY OTB location, and two suspected associates are the focus of the security breach into the Autotote Totalizator company's computer betting system that serviced both the Catskill OTB and host track of the event.

The winning tickets plus 108 consolation payoffs totaling more than $3 million are being held for payment until the investigation is complete.

Davis, along with fired Autotote employee Chris Harn, both of Maryland, and Glen DaSilva of New York, attended Drexel University in Pennsylvania in the mid-1990s and were members of the school's Tau Kappa Espsilon fraternity. All three are 29 years old.

It is believed that Davis conspired with Harn to alter the winning pick six tickets after four of the six races were already run. The $12 denomination ticket was constructed with single selections in the first four races while buying out the remaining two races in sequence with all runners in both events.

Harn is suspected of infiltrating the pari-mutuel pool from his post at the Newark, Del., Autotote hub. He is suspected of inserting the numbers of the winning horses in the first four Breeders' Cup races on Davis' ticket before the betting information was transmitted to the main hub at Arlington Park. Thus with all the possible combinations left covered on the ticket, it was an automatic winner.

When Volponi won the Classic as the longest shot on the board in the final race of the pick six, only Davis' tickets were correct. Thus, the immediate red flag from the industry.

By request of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders' Cup, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board launched an inquiry that swiftly broadened to a full-fledged investigation of not only the Breeders' Cup incident, but the integrity of the entire pari-mutuel betting system and the totalizator companies that supply the industry with it's massive simulcasting wagering network, right down to the main frame.

A task force formed to study the security of the industry's totalizator systems moved swiftly and on Friday made three recommendations that will immediately be put into place.

Tracks will be changing the way in which pick six and pick four information is transmitted. They will also be required to install a higher standard of software to meet new security and reporting criteria; all locations that provide phone account-wagering systems must install audio auditing back up; and there will be reviews of all multirace wagers for any suspicious patterns.

The NTRA received agreement of the recommendations from the three biggest operating companies in racing. Churchill Downs, Inc., Magna Entertainment, Inc., and the New York Racing Association, along with the country's three largest tote companies (AmTote, Autotote and United Tote) have accepted the initial conditions.

In a separate move, the three race track operating companies announced audits of the systems and wagering process at their tracks and are adding new security measures in totalizator rooms at all their locations.

A new policy by the Churchill Downs, Inc., tracks will start with the Wednesday racing cards. All wagering on each race at off-track betting and OTB centers (that include all race books in Nevada) will cease when the clock for post time reaches zero. No longer will simulcast patrons be allowed the extra betting time until all the horses are loaded into the starting gate for each race.

Churchill Downs, Inc., tracks offered in Nevada are Churchill Downs, Calder Race Course, Hoosier Park and Hollywood Park.

This week the investigation of the apparent Breeders' Cup fraud has widened to include two other bets now under the microscope. Those are alleged pick four winnings in October at Belmont Park and Balmoral Park harness that were placed through a Catskill OTB phone wagering account opened by DaSilva.

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