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A $100,000 bet placed and canceled within seconds of the start of the 6th race at Emerald Downs on Thursday caused chaos at the tracks with odds on the No. 2 horse moving from 5-1 to 1-20 as the horses were being loaded into the gate.
Ron Luniewski, the chief executive officer of XpressBet where the $100k bet was placed, stated that the account holder was new to racing and was a “high net-worth individual” who made an “honest mistake” by punching in the $100,000 bet. The bettor actually wanted to place a $1000 wager, Luniewski said.
“We are continuing our investigation, but I can assure you there was no intent to manipulate the wagering pools,” Luniewski said.
“They called it a wide thumb problem,” said Ron Crockett, the owner of Emerald Downs. “That’s a pretty wide thumb.”
From the Daily Racing Form:
When the $100,000 bet was canceled, the win odds on Lonely and Free soared to 52-1, while the win odds on all the other horses dropped, reflecting the new ratios in the win pool.
After leading into deep stretch, Lonely and Free finished second, beaten a neck, but, with all the money concentrated in the win pool, she paid $6.60 to place, within a normal range. The race was won by a Have’N a Wild Time, who paid $15 to win. All of the exotic wagers in the race also paid within a reasonable range.
Prior to the $100,000 bet being placed, the size of the win pool for the sixth race was approximately $14,000, according to state steward Thelma Lynn. After the $100,000 bet was canceled and the race went off, the total size of the win pool was approximately $84,000, or at least $50,000 more than a typical Emerald win pool, because of the number of bets made by the robotic programs.
- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com
