A bettor -- or bettors -- using foreign wagering sites manipulated the
odds for Monday's fifth race at Thistledown by strategically pouring
$90,000 into the betting pool, then tried to cash in on a horse that had
been transformed from the favorite into a long shot.
Ohio State Racing Commission Executive Director William Crawford
said the most logical explanation is that the bettors wanted to inflate
the odds on a horse that was a strong favorite. Then they could bet on
the horse they were sure would be the winner -- Eye Look the Part -- at
nonpari-mutuel offshore betting sites.
Those sites don't contribute to the betting pool at the racetracks, but many pay off according to track odds.
Eye Look the Part was loaded into the Thistledown starting gate as the
heavy 1-5 favorite to win the first race of her career. The last-second
betting bonanza on every other horse in the race resulted in Eye Look
the Part suddenly becoming a 5-1 long shot.
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