The New York Racing Association announced Feb. 6 that guardrails requiring computer-assisted wagering activity to cease at one minute to post in many pools have been suspended for one racing day on Friday to allow for technical upgrades to the tote system. NYRA's win pool, Late Pick 5, and Pick 6 rules—already subject to high-speed wagering restrictions—remained in effect Friday during its ongoing meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.
NYRA's latest CAW restrictions took effect Feb. 5 before Friday's pause. The operator now expects the CAW guardrails to be in place Feb. 11—its next scheduled racing day after weekend racing was canceled due to frigid weather—and moving forward, a NYRA spokesperson said.
The policy is meant to reduce odds volatility, increase pricing transparency, and improve the wagering experience for horseplayers.
CAW bettors account for 20% or more of the handle at many racetracks. Usually, CAW wagers are placed during the final moments before a race's start through sophisticated wagering technologies. This results in a lag in information to players, as the true odds for a race are only published on simulcast feeds and tote boards after the start.
In 2021, NYRA became the first racing organization in the United States to establish a timing restriction for CAW activity specific to the win pool. The measure, which prohibits CAW play in the win pool later than two minutes to post, has reduced dramatic late-odds fluctuations in win-pool wagering. Del Mar and Santa Anita Park are two other tracks that have since followed suit with this practice.
"These ongoing tote upgrades are connected to the throttling down of high-speed wagering as required by NYRA, but unrelated to the betting activity in (race 1) on Thursday," the NYRA spokesperson said.
In the Feb. 5 opener, a CAW player wagered $206,700 into the win pool across three horses. These bets were placed at three minutes to post, within NYRA's rules since outside two minutes to post, and none were successful. The CAW player bet $182,442 was on Patience N Grace, $23,556 on Three Nines Fine, and $702 on Bustling Town. Patience N Grace, in part due to the CAW bettor's sizable wager, started as a massive favorite.
The race was won by Undergrad, who was not among these specific CAW bets. The 6-5 morning-line favorite, Undergrad went off at odds of more than 4-1 and returned $10.32 to win for a $2 win bet. The runner-up, Tahila, started at odds of 111-1 after being pegged at 12-1 on the morning line.
NYRA prohibits CAW players from canceling bets once they are placed.
