Tote error leads to refund on Belmont-Yonkers pick four

All wagers placed on the pick four Saturday that combined two races from Yonkers and two from Belmont Park were refunded, but those who had the winning combination still got paid.

According to David O’Rourke, the chief revenue officer for the New York Racing Association, the bet processing company AmTote did not stop wagering when the first leg of the bet, the Harry Harvey Trot, went off. The stop betting button was finally hit at some point during the running of that race, according to Will Alempijevic, NYRA’s director of business development.

“Am Tote didn’t close the pool properly,” O’Rourke said. “What I’m telling them to do is refund everybody and then pay the true winners.”

There was $12,409 wagered on the pick four – $889 of which would have not been able to be made had betting been stopped correctly – that linked the Harry Harvey Invitational Trot and Yonkers International Trot from Yonkers with the Floral Park and Pebbles Stakes from Belmont.

The winning payout for $0.50 was $1,250.75 and there were five winning tickets sold for that price. There was one winning ticket purchased in a $1 denomination, which returned $2,501.50. According to Alempijevic, none of the winning were wagers were placed during the time betting should have been stopped.

The winning combination of 1-6-5-2 included Warrawee Roo ($10.60), Cruzado Dela Noche ($62.50), Fire Key ($16.60), and Stella di Camelot ($19.60).

Alempijevic said “if you had a losing ticket, it’s a refund and hopefully you can re-bet it. People that did have it, there is no way we can make them lose out as a result of someone’s mistake.”

NYRA has offered several pick four wagers this fall linking two of its races with two from another jurisdiction. Next Saturday, there will be two races from the Far Hills Steeplechase races in New Jersey, which is offering wagering for the first time, and two from Belmont’s New York Showcase Day program.