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In light of American Pharoah owner Ahmed Zayat’s admission to the New York Observer this past weekend that he routinely bet on horses, there are questions lingering as to whether Zayat - or other horse owners, trainers and the like for that matter – could opt to engage in lay betting at this year’s Belmont Stakes.
What is lay betting?
It’s betting something won't happen such as a particular horse, maybe American Pharoah, won’t win the Triple Crown.
While not a common bet type offered across the board, one of the biggest horse racing sites, Betfair, does offer lay betting as an option, and one would think such wagering is easily exploitable by those with “inside knowledge”.
What’s to stop any owner from placing a rather large wager on his or her horse not to win the Belmont Stake?
“I have never in my life bet on sports. I only bet on horses,” Zayat revealed to Ken Kurson of the New York Observer Saturday.
Zayat has come under scrutiny in recent days after it was revealed he allegedly owed around $2 million to offshore bookmakers and refuses to pay, let alone acknowledge such debts. The Egyptian-born horse owner claims he is a victim of extortion.
While Zayat himself has never been accused of laying bets on any of his horses, there is precedence for this sort of thing, particularly in the UK. In fact, many examples exist and the British Horse Racing Authority (BHR) has long frowned on such improprieties.
Darren Mercer became notorious for laying Joss Naylor for the 2003 Welsh National when he already knew the horse would not run.
Clive Whiting was at the center of the ugliest case of its kind as owner of a business called Palmers in Trent Bridge. He and his friends were alleged to have placed bets on Betfair through his computer, profiting from inside information.
The seven regulars at Palmers made a net profit of £61,000 from laying horses in 11 races on Betfair, including seven horses owned by Whiting, it was later revealed.
Then there was this:
And it would certainly not be appropriate to include the incredible case of Steve Goodwin, fined £3,500 for a "reckless approach to integrity". Specifically, that meant he allowed his wife access to his Betfair account. Imagine his chagrin when it turned out she had spent three years using it to lay horses owned by the racing club of which he was a director.
"We do not understand how the panel have reached the conclusion that it was not Steve Goodwin placing the bets," said the BHA in an extraordinary statement, "but they are an independent panel and we have to accept their findings."
Like with other professional and college sports, it is easy to see from past examples how horse racing outcomes can be manipulated for wagering purposes in order to benefit those with insider knowledge.
- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
