TUCSON, Ariz. – The New York Racing Association plans to limit the betting activity of computer-assisted wagering teams in nearly all betting pools with one minute to post as soon as the end of this year, the chief executive of NYRA said Tuesday at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing. David O’Rourke, NYRA’s top official, made the announcement as a panelist for a standing-room-only presentation on CAW wagering on Tuesday morning. The policy would be the most significant restriction on CAW wagering to be put in place since the teams began betting into parimutuel pools roughly two decades ago. “This is what the customer wants,” O’Rourke said. “This is about product quality.” Under the new policy, CAW play in all NYRA pools, with the exception of multi-race bets, will be “throttled down” at one minute to post. Although CAWs will still be able to make bets into the pools after the flash, they will face the same restrictions as other players, which is generally defined as a limitation of six bets per second (with no restrictions on betting amounts). O’Rourke said that the new policy would go into place in January “at the latest.” It could be in place by late December depending on industry buy-in and contract negotiations, O’Rourke said. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Four years ago, NYRA became the first major racetrack operator to limit CAW play when it shut off all CAW play in the win pool at two minutes to post. CAW play has become a major source of controversy – and misinformation – among horseplayers due to their ability to place thousands of bets into the pools in the last cycle before the race goes off and their outsized presence in the pools, which can often contribute to substantial late odds changes. CAW play is generally thought to account for about 25 percent to 35 percent of the total parimutuel market, though the share can vary widely among tracks. CAW programs are designed to exploit inefficiencies in betting pools by comparing real-time wagering data to odds estimates generated by the programs themselves. As a result, the programs are most efficient when they can estimate the impact of their own bets on the pools, which requires the program’s bets to be placed as near to the close of the pools as possible. Most non-CAW players have objected to the ability of the programs to place their bets so close to post time. Players have also objected to the relative size of the rebates the CAWs receive and their access to real-time wagering data in most pools. Also on the Tuesday panel, O’Rourke announced that NYRA will soon make its wagering feed available to any players. The feed, which will consist of raw wagering data on every betting interest in single-race pools, is likely to be of little use to most regular players, but the availability of the feed will signal to players that NYRA is serious about offering players new tools, O’Rourke said. O’Rourke also said it could produce whole new tools developed by players to assist in making bets. Scott Daruty, president of 1/ST Racing and Gaming’s simulcast marketing group and an account-wagering platform that exclusively contracts with CAW players, said that his group is doing the programming to make the data feed available. Daruty and O’Rourke said they both expect the feed to be available within several months. After the panel, O’Rourke said that NYRA plans to analyze how the association’s pools change as a result of the new restrictions, using a host of analytical tools and wagering data. Regardless of the outcomes from those analyses, the concept of putting major restrictions on CAW play at NYRA tracks will have staying power, O’Rourke said. “This is the beginning of forming these guardrails,” O’ Rourke said. “I wanted to draw a line because of the volume and to level the playing field. I don’t think we will be going back on this policy in any form or fashion. But there will probably be more things going forward.” :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports * Marshall Gramm, a panelist who is a professor of economics, horseplayer, owner, breeder, and influential betting advocate, continued to press racetracks to lower takeout overall, which he said would have beneficial impacts for both everyday players and the CAWs. Gramm said the natural starting point would be trifecta and superfecta pools, where CAWs have the biggest rebates. * Eric Halstrom, the general manager of racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, said that his track has responded to the problem of late-odds changes by displaying a tool developed by Daily Racing Form that analyzes betting trends to generate a “probable odds” figure as post-time approaches. He said that the display has given his everyday players more confidence when betting into the win pool. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.