Clerical error cause of betting snafu at Thistledown

An Equibase employee incorrectly entered the wrong number of a scratched horse into the company’s database prior to a race at Thistledown on Tuesday, an error that drew widespread attention when the “scratched” horse ended up winning the race, the company said in a statement issued late on Wednesday night.

The statement said that the Equibase chartcaller at Thistledown “received accurate scratch information” prior to the race but made the error when inputting the information into the database. As a result, many websites showed the 1 horse being scratched prior to the race being run, and not the horse’s entrymate, the 1A. The 1 horse, Chargedwith Intent, won the race and paid $18 to win.

“The inaccurate data entry was the result of an innocent human error that Equibase regrets,” said the statement, attributed to Jason Wilson, the president of the company. “We are working with the host track and our team internally to minimize the chance of any future occurrences.”

Equibase officials have not responded to repeated requests for comment since the incident occurred.

Chargedwith Intent and his entrymate, Swift Punch, were listed at 6-1 on the morning line for the six-furlong, $5,000 claiming race, which was the first race of the day.

When horses are scratched, the information is recorded by clerks in the racing office. The information is then entered into a database maintained by Equibase, which is co-owned by a consortium of racetracks and The Jockey Club. (Equibase provides data to Daily Racing Form.) That information is then transmitted to data and wagering providers and made available on a variety of websites, from the same data source.

Prior to the race, Daily Racing Form’s page showed that Chargedwith Intent was scratched, as did other betting and data sites that receive Equibase data. Equibase corrected the information after the race was run.

While those sites that received the Equibase feed had the wrong horse listed as scratched, the Thistledown simulcast feed showed the correct information.

The race drew a total of $88,115 in single-race bets and another $40,000 in multi-race bets. The vast majority of bets right now in the U.S. are going through account-wagering platforms due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. An official who has knowledge of a scan of the computer wagers searching for unusual patterns said on Wednesday that the scan did not turn up any suspicious bets.

TVG sent an email to its customers after the incorrect scratch information was announced saying it had refunded all non-winning wagers on the race.

“As you did not have the opportunity to bet [the scratched horse], we are refunding your wager, which has already been added to your account,” the email said.