Two of the nation's leading tote companies - one based in Maryland and the other embroiled in a bet-rigging scandal stemming from this year's Breeders' Cup - won conditional renewals of their licenses yesterday by the Illinois Racing Board.
Autotote Systems Inc. of Newark, Del., was reapproved to do business in 2003 in Illinois, the state in which this year's Breeders' Cup was run on Oct. 26. However, it was ordered to comply with all recommendations that come from an industry-wide security audit, as well as an internal audit being peformed by Kroll Inc. at the request of Autotote.
AmTote International Inc. of Hunt Valley was also reapproved, according to racing board spokesman Mickey Ezzo, on the condition it also comply with the recommendations of the industry-wide audit being performed by Ernst & Young.
The effort to improve security was a response to the Breeders' Cup betting scandal in which a computer programmer admitted to digitally changing the bets of a pair of confederates after the races had been run.
The programmer, Christopher Harn, 29, of Newark, has pleaded guilty to using the company's systems to rig those bets. The scheme resulted in more than $3 million in payoffs, largely due to a long shot's victory in the Breeders' Cup's Pick Six. Payment on the winnings has been frozen by authorities. Harn was fired by Autotote last month after the scam was uncovered.
Tote companies design and operate the computer systems used by racetracks to tally bets and wagers. In Illinois, Autotote holds the contract to provide tote services for Arlington Park, Quad City Downs and Fairmount Park. AmTote does the work for Sportsman's Park, Balmoral Park, Hawthorne Park and Maywood Park.
In Maryland, AmTote handles the betting at Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and Rosecroft Raceway. Autotote contracts with Delmarva Downs.
The racing board also voted to permit Illinois tracks to resume offering Pick Four and Pick Six wagers as soon as additional security steps are implemented. The board suspended those wagers in the aftermath of the bet-rigging scandal.
Harn exploited a delay in the transmission of data on multi-race bets, a delay the industry has agreed to eliminate.