Tellers Suspended for Accepting Bets After Harness Race

The Meadows race track suspended 17 tellers without pay Friday for continuing to accept bets the previous night on a race that had already been run, track officials said.

A computer malfunction at the harness track was blamed for the incident in the fourth race, when windows remained open until several minutes after the race ended.

“It appears there may have been some tickets sold as much as four minutes after the race started,” said Ben Mader of the State Harness Racing Commission.

“The tellers should have been able to pick it up and not sell tickets. They should know better,” he said. “The assumption is that many of these people (tellers) bought the tickets.”

Heavy last-minute betting dropped the payoff on winner Nero’s Valentine from $21.00 to $8.80.

The track on Friday recalculated the odds and promised to make restitution to all bettors who could show they bought tickets.

Meadows spokesman Bob Sabot said the 17 tellers will remain under temporary suspension until General Manager Terry Bove meets with representatives of the track’s union. Seven other tellers did stop selling tickets when the bell rang throughout the track.