Citing a desire to reduce late odds changes, since July 28 the New York Racing Association has required computer-robotic wagering teams to make win bets no later than three minutes before post. The restriction does not apply to place and show bets.
Late odds changes regularly draw the ire of traditional horseplayers, and CRWs, due to their high volume in the moments just before a race starts, often are the reason for the shifts. CRW players typically are teams that use computer algorithms to seek and isolate betting market inefficiencies through direct access to wagering systems. The CRWs then aim to take advantage of these inefficiencies through large-scale wagers shortly before a race is conducted.
Typically racetracks have been reluctant to curb the use of CRWs as they generate sizable handle, a percentage of which funds tracks and purses (as well as large rebates that are critical for CRWs). Two major racetrack owners, The Stronach Group and Churchill Downs Inc., also operate sites that market to CRW players.
"For the everyday player, dramatic late odds shifts are a frustrating side effect of high-volume wagers placed at the last possible second," said NYRA senior director of communications Pat McKenna in a statement.
This winter, NYRA banned CRWs from its Pick Six, as it had also done for certain other multi-race exotic wagers.
"As has been the case with the NYRA Late Pick 5, the Cross-Country Pick 5, and the Pick Six, NYRA will continue to evaluate the overall impact of these changes while prioritizing the everyday horseplayer who supports our racing 12 months a year," McKenna's statement continued.
Daily Racing Form, which first reported NYRA's win-pool CRW ban, indicated that win-pool wagering at Saratoga Race Course is down approximately 12% per race since the change took effect, though its overall handle has remained steady during a growth year for NYRA.
According to McKenna, all CRW groups are limited by the latest restriction.
