Saratoga: Steward halts betting early by mistake

I hate to engage ignorance but...just to be clear, John Capper, you have no issue with what this steward did and no issue with the lack of acccountability and forthrightness from NYRA to actually explain how this could possibly happen and steps being made to make sure it doesnt happen again. It is a disgrace that the greatest meet of the racing season is being overseen by someone who isnt proferssional enough to be in the right position to do his job. Now I dont believe the explanation given by NYRA, I believe there was more to the story. But it appears we will never find out for sure. As a matter of record I did get my bet in and I did get beat, so the issue did not cost me money. So that has no bearing on the way I feel about this issue

Back in the 1930's and forward, (maybe even before then), winning tickets could be set up thru Past Posting. The days of the telegraph wire. The computer and tote systems pretty much made this extinct. There still is funny business going on at some tracks, and some standard bred races. It just takes on a new form, with emphasis on the "hands on" approach. Catch my drift? "The time has come the walrus said, to speak of many things" Lewis Carroll

ATTENTION STEVE CHRIST & DAVID GRENING .......Could you PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE ban some of these idiots here. What is a great idea for people to talk about a great sport and lend ideas to each other is nothing more than a bunch of old ladies (sorry Grandmom) whining and complaining about any little thing out there. I never seen so many people complain about everything and anything. REALLY..Can you do something? Everyone here knows everything about everything, but make ZERO sense when they talk handicapping. Whereas, i actually came here a week ago to "talk horses", it is nothing more than a place to get a great laugh at the expense of a great paper. STEVE CHRIST - you should be ashamed to let these MORONS, yes, idiots, yes, dopes, yes, LOSERS ruin a great site you have created. Freedon of speach, yes, but constant negativity needs to be dealt with more swiftly and shaarply than this poor guy who made a mistake. NEVER have I seen a bunch of (and I am assuming) seasoned horseplayers be so knowedable, yet UNABLE TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES WHEN HANDICAPPING, AS WELL AS THEY CAN WITH LIFE ISSUES. Everyone is a cheat. Everyone is out to get them. Everypone has a motive, yet these guys know all this and still fill my pockets with their bad bets and playing a sport that they KNOW is cheating them at every turn. When they lose, they were cheated. When they win, they complain about the price!! HEY LOSERS - If you put 1/10 the effort you put into crying and whining, you may be able to walk out a winner at some point. And yes, before any of you bravehearts challenge my handicapping skills, it is $100 per race, CASH UP FRONT! I have no problem taking your portion of the pools and would like nothing better than to SHUT UP a few of you KNOW-IT-ALLS. You guys that complain have reduced this site to nothing more than a laughing stock to bloodhorse. My God, i would go there, but DrayNay is like 50 of you guys. Either way, i get a great laugh, but a lousy time! Why can't all of you just pull up your panties and bite your tongue. I have no problem helping anyone here who wants some insight into handicapping. But alas, you guys know it all, huh? After all,, I never seen so many huys complain about a race AFTER it was over. Oh yeah I see that every day I go to the track from the LOSERS.

Yeah, I' sure all of you whiners bet on a Penn Nat shipper at Saratoga. lol

Bafferts fault. 100% sure. Zayat had a play in it too. Come on guys. My funny reading is getting like. Start with the rumor mill. I need another laugh between cashing tickets.

Anyone seeing that this blunder has sufficiently angered (so far) 112 people to comment, as opposed to the 20 or so who responded to the Round Table's proposals, should now know where fans' interests and concerns lie.

Pathetic. Steps need t be taken to stop this from happening again. There has to be a technology that can make this work more reliably. I know technology isn't perfect, but humans are even less so. He was watching the wrong race? That may be the dumbest excuse ever.

I was making one bet Monday. The last DD. Of coarse it hit for $125. The life of a horseplayer. and Murphy's law. Unbelievable....

I'm skeptical of this 'official' answer, and that's coming from someone who normally prefers to give people the benefit of the doubt most of the time. My question is why were the cameras in the Stewards' office at Saratoga trained on anything other than what was happening on the track at Saratoga? Why were they watching other tracks? My next question is don't they have some kind of communication with their own employees on the track during each race, just in case there is confusion happening on the track or in the office? We all know the common saying - Stuff Happens (that's the sanitized version). Wouldn't he first talk to someone on the track to confirm that the race had actually gone off, and once confirming the race had started, then press the button? NYRA has had quite a few unfortunate circumstances hit them this year, this one just adds to the list. For those who would have had a winning ticket had they been allowed to bet the race, this incident was a catastrophe. For those that would have had a losing ticket if allowed to bet, they are thankful to Mr. Donofrio for saving them some money, and are willing to forgive him. There were probably more of the latter than the former. - LOL. Saratoga, on the other hand, might not be so forgiving. They lost quite a bit of money because a lot of people wait until the final minutes before a race to place their bets. I can imagine the cursing going on across the country when this happened, though. - LOL. That must have been quite a sight to behold.

Mafia obviously