CAW players

The "guardrails" put in place by the NYRA in an attempt to limit the wagering of the computer assisted wagering players (CAW) had a clear impact over the five-day Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga. Over the five days, CAW players bet a combined $22,109,626, a major drop from 2025 when they wagered $39,989,964. That represents a decrease of 44.7%. The CAW play in 2026 accounted for 11% of the total handle. In 2025, that figure was 20.2% of handle. Beginning Feb. 5, NYRA began requiring CAW activity to cease at...

Delta Downs decided to give horseplayers an unprecedented break last week. For their daytime cards on Tuesday and Wednesday, the track lowered the takeout in all pools to just 10%. While other tracks have experimented with lowering the takeout in some pools, never before had anyone decided to slash the take in all pools. By doing so, it looked like Delta would provide the industry with some much needed data. What effect would such a low takeout have on handle and how would the ADWs and the CAW players react?...

In a statement issued Thursday, The Stronach Group owned Elite Turf Club, LLC, and AmTote International, Inc., have responded to a class action lawsuit filed last week against several Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) related wagering entities under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") and under state law, alleging they have "organized and participated in the corruption of the betting system to the detriment of the class." The debate around CAW players typically surrounds the edge they wield over regular gamblers thanks to their use of sophisticated technologies that...

Last month, Rhodes College economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney published in these pages a study showing the estimated impacts at Aqueduct over the past four winters from CAW players during the last cycle. They found that since 2022, the percentage share from last cycle monies wagered into the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools (among others), had grown significantly. There was a problem, however, with the study: unbeknownst to Gramm and McKinney, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) had switched to a new Tote operator in...

Last week, economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney published a study in these pages showing the impacts at Aqueduct the past four winters from CAW players during the last flash across all the pools. According to that study, the percentage share from CAW players of monies wagered last-minute into the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools (among others) had jumped significantly between 2022 and 2024. In light of that published study, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has issued a statement explaining that, in the fall of...

A deal that Del Mar has made with a titan of Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) provides a rare glimpse into the tremendous sway that individual players can wield over track and racing officials, the potentially lopsided economic ramifications of such deals, and the tremendous pressures that California executives are under with competing jurisdictions that enjoy purse subsidies not available in the Golden State. It also turns a spotlight onto a world largely hidden from the public eye-one that industry leaders are generally loathe to discuss publicly, and in which just...