Hollywood Park Staggers Out of Gate

Opening day at Hollywood Park quickly turned into widespread confusion and scattered anger Wednesday when a number of fans suspected that tens of thousands of dollars had been bet on the first-race winner after the horses had left the gate.

When eight maiden fillies broke for the 41/2-furlong race, Global Finance’s odds showed at 9-2. But by the time the field crossed the finish line--and before the “official” sign went up--her odds had plummeted to 2-5. Fans were aghast that Global Finance’s win payoff was only $2.80 instead of about $11, which would have been the return at 9-2 odds.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that the Hollywood Park tote board was blank for the first two races. The odds appeared on the large infield TV screen to the right of the tote board.

Hostility, the 6-5 favorite on the screen when the race began, finished second, 31/2 lengths behind Global Finance, at final odds of 9-2.

Track officials explained that a large amount of win bets had been placed on Global Finance just before the start of the race through a wagering hub in Lewiston, Maine. The bets totaled $118,000--23 bets at $5,000 and one at $3,000. Before those bets, only $11,461 was in the win pool on Global Finance.

The last-second bets on Global Finance at Lewiston resulted in a profit of $47,200.

Bettors placing large bets at post time have been a source of concern for tracks since the expansion of off-track betting in recent years. One bettor in particular in North Dakota has been known to place thousands of dollars in bets just before horses leave the gate. Authorities there have investigated his activities and found nothing illegal.

Because of the surge in off-track betting, it is not unusual for tote-board odds to change after a race has begun. What made Wednesday’s incident so glaring was the transfer of favoritism from one horse to a filly that was 6-1--the fourth betting choice--on the morning line. Global Finance had run only once before, finishing seventh in a 10-horse field in a two-furlong race at Santa Anita on March 27. She went off at 9-2 odds that day.

Hollywood Park runs an explanation of late odds changes in its daily program.

“Odds displayed on the tote board are not final when the horses break from the gate,” the notice says. “Money from out-of-state is updated in approximately 60-second intervals. With the start of the race, betting instantly shuts down. Final odds appear on the tote board when the final out-of-state information is received.”

In another era, bookmakers referred to bets made after the start of a race as “past-posting.” One of the plot turns in the movie “The Sting” revolved around bets in a bookie joint after the races were over. Largely missing from tracks now are “bell-ringers”--wily bettors who would position themselves at mutuel windows, money in hand, ready to make split-second bets on horses that broke sharply.

Their partners in the scheme would focus on the field with binoculars, then quickly deliver hand signals as the gates opened. At one time, the New York tracks sought to thwart bell-ringers by cutting off all bets after the fourth-to-last horse in the field had been loaded into the gate.

Wednesday’s crowd of 7,851--admission was free--appeared to have recovered from the first-race tremors by the time trainer Tim Pinfield saddled favored Line Rider to a half-length victory in the $77,925 Harry Henson Stakes. A race later, Ladies Din, a 7-year-old gelding that had run only twice since 2000, took a small step in the direction of the $2-million earnings plateau with a two-length victory in a $62,000 allowance.

Line Rider is one of the last horses Pinfield will start before he leaves to take a training post in Singapore on June 1. The English-born conditioner has been in California for 10 years.

“Things have been really going good here for the last 18 months,” Pinfield said. “But the opportunity in Singapore is so huge that I just couldn’t pass it up.”

Line Rider, sold as a yearling for $650,000 at a Keeneland auction, began his career in Europe, winning only one of eight starts and four times being beaten by Johannesburg, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and one of the favorites for this year’s Kentucky Derby. Wednesday’s victory, in 563/5 seconds for 51/2 furlongs over Hollywood’s turf course, was his first victory in three starts for Pinfield. Mike Smith, who hadn’t been aboard Line Rider before, rode the winner, who paid $8.

“You hate to say goodbye to horses like these,” the 35-year-old Pinfield said. “I’ve got about 30 horses here. I’m taking a few with me, some will be sold, and the rest will be dispersed among several trainers.”

Line Rider, fifth at the top of the stretch, overtook Ecstatic in the final strides. Mighty David caught Ecstatic at the wire to dead-heat for second place.

“I told Mike before the race to take his time, because there appeared to be plenty of pace to run at,” Pinfield said. “Just let the others cut their own throats.”

Gary Stevens, who had ridden Line Rider to a second-place finish at Santa Anita on April 11, was astride Red Briar, the second betting choice who finished fifth.

“Gary told me this colt would really improve off his last race,” Smith said. “This horse might even go on. We might get a mile with him.”

Pat Valenzuela rode Ladies Din to his 11th victory in 34 starts. It was the first time trainer Julio Canani’s veteran had won since the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar in July 2000. Ladies Din hadn’t won in six grass starts at Hollywood, although one first-place finish had been negated by a stewards’ disqualification. Giving Canani his second victory on the card, he completed the mile in 1:333/4, earned $37,200 and boosted his total to $1.7 million.