Del Mar offers wrong payoffs after entry runs 1-2; racing board to investigate

DEL MAR, Calif. - Human error caused an incorrect set of win, place, and show prices to be paid to bettors for just under four minutes after Thursday's seventh race at Del Mar, track officials said.

The incident prompted the stewards to call for a California Horse Racing Board investigation, and was the second time within a week that incorrect payoff information was displayed to the public in Southern California. At Hollywood Park on July 16, an incorrect winning combination in a superfecta was paid out to bettors for approximately two minutes before the mistake was caught.

Thursday's incorrect payoffs stemmed from a 1-2 finish by the entry of Jet Blue Girl and She's Cheeky. They were followed in the order of finish by Logical Single in third and Salty Sarah in fourth. Initially, a payoff of $4.20 to win, $2.40 to place and $2.10 to show for the entry was displayed on the tote board and television monitors, along with payoffs of $4 to place and $2.60 to show on Logical Single and $2.20 to show on Salty Sarah.

Bettors were able to collect on those payoffs for approximately 3 1/2 minutes after the race was official, track officials said, even though they were incorrect, except for the win payoff.

When an entry finishes first and second, payoffs should be displayed as a win, place and show payoff for either half of the entry, and only a show price on the third horse, in this case Logical Single. No exotic wagers were affected by the erroneous payoffs, track officials said.

After the mistake was caught on Thursday, cashing was suspended and seven minutes passed before the correct payoffs were posted: $4.20, $4 and $2.40 on the entry and $4.40 to show on Logical Single. Track officials said a mutuel employee inputted the wrong data into the system that generates payoffs.

There was $1,063 worth of tickets cashed on the entry and Logical Single on the incorrect prices, track officials said. It was not clear how many dollars worth of tickets were cashed on incorrect place and show prices on Logical Single, or any tickets to show on Salty Sarah. Bettors who collected lower-than-expected prices for place and show tickets on the entry or show tickets for Logical Single can recover the difference by contacting the mutuel department, track officials said.