Mid-Atlantic Pick 4: Bet issues resolved, ready for week 2

A miscommunication between tote companies resulted in a refund of wagers made through TwinSpires on the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pick 4 on Monday, but representatives of both operators expect no issues for week 2.

Both tote companies involved – United Tote for TwinSpires and Global Tote for Monmouth Park, which acted as the host for the wager – said the issue stemmed from failed testing protocols ahead of the wager. Those have been resolved ahead of the next offering, the companies said.

There was no issue with wagers made through Global Tote and AmTote's customers. In addition to serving as Monmouth's tote company, Global Tote also services NJBets while AmTote works with TVG, NYRABets and 1/ST Bet. Churchill Downs Inc. owns United Tote, BetMakers owns Global Tote, and 1/ST Racing owns AmTote.

It has been a tumultuous week for multi-track, multi-race wagers as the cross-country Pick 5 on Saturday was the victim of past posting when the pool did not close until after the first leg had been run. AmTote took responsibility for that error and is working on automating the stop-betting function for these types of wagers.

The New York Racing Association and AmTote supplemented the pool with an additional $50,000, which increased the payoff about 36 percent, but it took about 90 minutes to reconcile the wager, Daily Racing Form reported.

NYRA will offer the cross-country Pick 5 on Saturday and then suspend the bet until AmTote automation is ready.

This last hurrah is not without its issues either, though, as it is a cross-breed, cross-country Pick 5 featuring harness races from the Meadowlands, but New York regulations prevent residents there from wagering on standardbred races that occur outside the state.

The Mid-Atlantic Pick 4 links two races each from Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs each Monday in August. The wager offers 15 percent takeout and handled $45,533 in week 1. Estimates put handle lost from the TwinSpires issue between $5,000 and $10,000.

For wagering purposes, the special multi-race wagers involving non-sequential races at the same or multiple tracks are listed as separate events on wagering menus.