Some bookies pay bets on scratched horse in Breeders’ Cup
Del Mar, Calif.
The booing from bettors overseas was not as loud as it was at Del Mar after the botched running of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Most if not all bookmakers in Great Britain paid off win tickets for both Modern Games and Tiz the Bomb, according to Racing Post.
“We are not applying deductions to winning bets on Tiz the Bomb in the spirit of resolving this debacle in the most customer-friendly way possible,” said Simon Clare, spokesman for the company that owns Ladbrokes and Coral.
VIDEO: See California regulators explain Juvenile Turf mess.
Paddy Power, Betfair and Skybet, all operated by the same company that owns TVG and TimeformUS, paid the equivalent of show bets down to fifth place “as a goodwill gesture,” spokesman Paul Binfield told Racing Post.
Modern Games was prematurely scratched before the Juvenile Turf after he triggered a gate incident that resulted in the spill of stablemate Albahr. Albahr was also scratched, but Modern Games was put back in the race when it was determined he was not hurt. Because he was taken out of the pari-mutuel pools, though, he ran for purse money only, and bets on him were refunded.
After Modern Games made a late close to win the race, loud booing was heard from the crowd at Del Mar, much of which had made the Godolphin homebred a 9-5 favorite before his number was taken off the board.
Tiz the Bomb finished second, but he was treated as the winner for betting purposes. Mackinnon, Grafton Street and Dakota Gold finished third through fifth and filled out the superfecta.
Because they are not part of the North American pari-mutuel pools, U.K. bookmakers could make the call to pay off win bets for both Modern Games and Tiz the Bomb since they offer fixed-odds wagering.
Nevada and New Jersey also allow fixed-odds betting on horse races, but books based in Las Vegas did not offer the Juvenile Turf. The same system was signed into law Aug. 5 in New Jersey, where regulators are still writing the rules.