Attorney: Bet Was Legitimate

The attorney for Derrick Davis, the Baltimore bettor who has been implicated in the pick-six scandal at last Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup, said Friday that his client would be exonerated.

In Kentucky, the Thoroughbred Times reported that Davis, 29, and Chris Harn, the Autotote Corp. software engineer who was fired on Thursday, attended Drexel University in Philadelphia at the same time.

Donald Groth, president of the Catskill Off-Track Betting Corp. in New York, had said Thursday that Davis and Harn, also 29, were partners in a scheme in which six winning pick-six tickets, worth more than $3 million in payoffs, were altered to ensure winners after as many as four of the six Breeders’ Cup races had been run.

Groth predicted that Davis, whose tickets cost $1,152, would not be able to cash them after the New York State Racing and Wagering Board completed its investigation. The Breeders’ Cup put the tickets in limbo Monday after Autotote reviewed unusual horse-selection patterns on the tickets. Davis made his bets through a telephone account with Catskill OTB. If Davis’ tickets are thrown out, the entire net pick-six pool -- $3.4 million -- would be shared by those who had tickets with five winners.

“My client’s bet was a legitimate bet,” said Steven A. Allen, who is Davis’ attorney. “He’s concerned about some of the wild accusations that have damaged his reputation. When all of this ends, it will be shown that this was a legitimate ticket and that nothing irregular occurred.”

Allen wouldn’t answer questions about the investigation.

The New York Racing Assn., which is responsible for the Breeders’ Cup’s initial inquiry into the pick six, has asked the state wagering board to investigate two pick-six payoffs -- for $421,998 and $330,389 -- in August at Saratoga. There was only one winning ticket both days. Tim Smith, commissioner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Assn., said that he is not aware of any other investigations into betting payoffs.

The NTRA and the Breeders’ Cup, reacting to the controversial pick six, announced Friday that they had formed what has been called a “wagering technology working group,” which includes several industry executives plus Jim Quinn, an author and handicapper.

“This will not be some drawn-out academic study,” Smith said. “By taking a long look at all the aspects of wagering technology, we must double our efforts to keep the confidence of the betting public. This will be a big challenge. We not only need to repair bettor confidence, we need to enhance it.”

Sherwood Chillingworth, executive vice president of the Oak Tree Racing Assn., said that there had been some changes at Santa Anita in preparation for today’s guaranteed $1-million pick six.

“We’re doing everything possible to prevent any abnormalities,” Chillingworth said. “We’ve changed the locks on the doors to the tote room. We’ll have a special guard at the door, and we’ve installed a security camera in the room.”

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Julie Krone, riding for the first time since April 19, 1999, finished fourth aboard Justly Royal in the fifth race at Santa Anita. Justly Royal was squeezed at the start and lacked running room in the stretch before finishing two-plus lengths behind winner Silky Summer.... Krone, 39, who has 3,545 victories, has three mounts in today’s California Cup card and two on Sunday.