horseplayers

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...

In a Zoom call with members of the racing media, NYRA lifted the curtain Friday regarding the drop in Computer Assisted Wagering play after the racing organization put certain "guardrails" in place intended to limit the wagers of the CAW players. In July 2021, NYRA became the first racing organization in the United States to establish a timing restriction for CAW activity, shutting off the win pool to CAW players with two minutes to post. A more significant step was taken in Dec. 2025 when CAW players were not allowed...

Mike Battaglia, who has served as Churchill Downs's morning line oddsmaker for more than five decades, will retire from the role ahead of the 44-day spring meet and be replaced by Nick Tammaro, according to a press release from the track on Friday. Battaglia was responsible for setting the odds at Churchill Downs since 1974. He also served as the track's announcer from 1977-97 and later as a simulcast host from 1997-2007. "I'm very appreciative of everyone at Churchill Downs for the opportunity over the years," Battaglia said. "It's been...

It's a busy time for NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney as there are some important issues facing horse racing that are being addressed in the nation's capital. Most notably, is the provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill that allows gamblers to deduct only 90 percent of their losses from their winnings. If nothing is done to change that, it will likely have a serious impact on the sport and drive many big bettors out of the game. Bills have been introduced that would allow gamblers to again write...

The fifth pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and lone Kentucky Oaks offering is set to begin Friday at Noon ET and will close Sunday evening, Churchill Downs said in a press release on Tuesday. Both pools feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering, as well as a separate Oaks/Derby Future Double linking selections in both races. The Kentucky Derby Future Wager closes Sunday at 6 p.m., while the Oaks Future Wager remains open until 6:30 p.m. Headlining the Derby wagering slate is GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star winner Paladin (Gun...

Kevin Engelhard, Mike Ferrozzo, Chris Littlemore, and Ken Seeman, who have 62 total NHC appearances between them, have been voted by their peers for induction into the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship Hall of Fame, the The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Friday. These decorated handicappers represent the 12th class of NHC Hall of Fame inductees and will be recognized during the NHC Champions Dinner on Sunday, March 15, following the conclusion of the 27th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The judge overseeing the pending class-action federal lawsuit over computer-assisted wagering (CAW) on Friday put a halt to "discovery" in the case, meaning that for the time being, the small-scale bettor who initiated the litigation back in October won't be able to go forward with the process of trying to gather evidence from some of the nation's biggest tracks and bet-takers who are named as defendants in the suit. The order by Judge Joan Azrack was entered into the electronic docket late in the afternoon of Feb. 20 without any...

After watching a bill she filed last July to restore a gambler's right to deduct 100% of losses from gambling winnings languish without consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada on Thursday initiated a discharge petition in an attempt to bypass committee action and force it to a vote before the full Congress. "My FAIR BET Act has been sitting in @WaysMeansCmte for eight months, despite commitments from @HouseGOP to restore the full gambling loss deduction," Titus wrote Feb. 12 in a posting...

After being implemented and put into effect on Thursday, NYRA, citing a need to upgrade its tote system, announced Friday that the new "guardrail rails" put in place regarding Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) will not go into effect until Feb. 11. With winter weather having knocked out the Saturday and Sunday cards at Aqueduct, the 11th is the next scheduled day of racing. "The guardrails requiring CAW activity to cease at 1 MTP have been suspended today to allow for technical upgrades to the tote system," read a NYRA statement....

ThoroFan is a national non-profit Thoroughbred Racing Fan Association, Inc (501 (c)(3)) with 18 years of experience representing the interest of Thoroughbred racing fans across the country. We are proud of our monikers, "Giving the Fan a Voice" and "An educated Fan is a Better Fan." With the current takeout rates present in parimutuel racing today, the average fan contributes, at minimum, 20-30 percent of the money that sustains the success of the industry (with larger retail handicappers/players contributing much more) yet is not allowed anywhere near that type of...

The Week in Review - Last month, when parties on both sides of a pending class-action lawsuit over computer-assisted wagering (CAW) argued in federal court over allegations that the nation's biggest racetracks have conspired with "insider" high-volume bettors to rig pari-mutuel pools at the expense of small-scale horseplayers, the defendants in the case-the New York Racing Association (NYRA), The Stronach Group (TSG), Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), Racing and Gaming Services (RGS), AmTote International, United Tote, and Elite Turf Club-wrote letters to the judge purporting that plaintiff Ryan Dickey was using...