Nick McKinney

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...

Editor's note, by Dan Ross: Despite the New York Racing Association's efforts in recent years to limit Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) participation in the Win, Late Pick Five, and Pick Six pools, the influence these teams exert in terms of last-cycle betting impacts appears to be growing in several other key pools, according to research conducted by economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney, both of Rhodes College in Tennessee. Indeed, they found that since 2022, the percentage share from CAW players of monies wagered last-minute into the Exacta, Trifecta,...