Pocono, Quebec At Odds Over Pick-7

Published: September 9, 2009 11:58 am EDT

Quebec racetrack operator Attractions Hippiques is back in the news, this time over a disputed Pick-7

ticket.

Pocono Downs has refused to honour an apparent winning ticket on the September 2 Pick-7, sold at one of Attractions Hippiques' Montreal-area teletheatres, on the grounds it was a $1 ticket and its Pick-7 minimum is $2.

Instead of the $70,000 they thought was theirs, the four friends who held the winning ticket were instead offered a refund of $432, the amount they'd spent using different $1 combinations. Pocono paid a consolation prize of $39.60 to those who had six of seven winners.

Attractions Hippiques said it was the first it heard of the minimum. It had been taking $1 boxed bets on Pick-7 bets wagers at Pocono Downs since June 30, boosting its payoffs and generating commissions for the track, with no protests from Pocono.

"They have been accepting our money without a problem," Attractions Hippiques president Ian Wetherly said.

An item in June on the Standardbred Canada website specifically mentioned the new Pick-7 bet at Pocono could be made in denominations of $1.

Pocono Downs president Robert Soper said the $2 minimum was clearly communicated in emails sent to Attractions Hippiques when the bet was introduced.

"It's funny how they seem to be the only ones (who misinterpreted it)," he said.

Soper said "this is really an issue for the one that accepted the bet and their tote company. We don't really have an obligation or ability to monitor every single bet that occurs. We have bets coming from all over the world."

The actual amount in the pool was about $28,000, not $70,000, Soper said.

The preliminary payout number was unofficial and based on a $2 ticket, with a further adjustment for currency exchange. Attractions Hippiques has let Pocono know it disagrees with its stance in the matter and intends to bring it to the attention of regulators in Pennsylvania. As of Tuesday, it's also stopped taking bets on Pocono's races.

"We are working diligently to resolve the situation," Wetherly said.

The ticketholders just want to be paid.

"It's not our mistake," said Daniel St. Onge. "It shouldn't be our problem. We made a legal bet through a licensed operator. If they take the bets, they should also pay them."

He and his partners have lodged a formal complaint with the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Association, which is now investigating.

(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)

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