Santa Anita, Oaklawn officials find no wrongdoing in canceled Southwest bet

Santa Anita will restore the signal from Oaklawn Park in Arkansas this week after officials of the two tracks and regulators in both states found no intentional manipulation of the betting pools following the cancellation of a $100,000 show bet on the first division of the Feb. 20 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.

The investigation into the bet had led Santa Anita to remove Oaklawn from its simulcast menu last week as its officials sought clarification on whether Oaklawn would continue to allow patrons at Santa Anita to cancel bets. Oaklawn officials had raised concerns about the practice after the cancellation of the wager, which occurred 10 minutes prior to post and one hour after it was first placed.

“The atypical nature of this particular transaction justified the scrutiny it received,” said Bobby Geiger, Oaklawn’s director of simulcasting, in a statement. “Fans participating in Oaklawn’s parimutuel pools should take comfort knowing the various regulatory and oversight authorities are looking out for their best interests.”

According to officials, the bettor who placed the cancelled wager is a high roller at Santa Anita who has placed 20 to 30 extraordinarily large show bets over the past year. In earlier interviews, the officials said that the bettor asked to cancel the wager after watching the race prior to the Southwest and re-evaluating past-performance data.

The bet was placed on Longview Drive, the favorite in the race. Longview Drive finished in a triple dead heat for sixth.