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MASTERMIND: A DAY AT THE RACES (The 2002 Breeders' Cup Betting Scandal)
As it turned out, one bettor held all the winning tickets and most of the consolation tickets. But what sounded like a feel-good story about a Baltimore resident turning his luck around quickly turned sour. Alerted by racetrack executives who knew that this story was way too good to be true, investigators soon found that a rogue tote company employee and two friends had manipulated the wagering system to pull off one of the biggest betting coups in history. They probably were caught only because they were too lucky, and 43.50-to-1 VOLPONI proved their downfall. If one of the favorites had won the Classic, they most likely would have had their bogus bet buried among a large number of winning wagers, and no one would have noticed. The three con artists were soon arrested, ringleader Chris Harn cut a deal to testify against his friends, and all three went to prison on guilty pleas. But the damage to pari-mutuel racing was done.
This is the inside story of the 2002 Ultra Pick Six Breeders' Cup fraud perpetrator, Chris Harn, and his conspirators, Glen DaSilva and Derrick Davis - see how three fraternity brothers scammed the world of horse racing by computer trickery. These three men rocked the Thoroughbred industry when they exploited several security weaknesses in the pari-mutuel system.
Things started off relatively small-time as Harn, a senior programmer for Autotote, discovered a security flaw that would allow him to forge and cash hundreds of uncashed winning tickets; each year, patrons mistakenly discard or lose winning tickets that are never cashed. Harn found a way to print counterfeit tickets that matched the uncashed tickets...he then printed hundreds of these tickets and DaSilva cashed them at tracks throughout the Northeast. DaSilva told ABC News that they made $100,000 in a month from this scam. After going virtually undetected with this ongoing caper, the group goes for a bigger payday: the Breeders' Cup. They place enough bets to win more than $3 million. Will greed prevail?
Harn's behind-the-scenes story...the computer whiz turned jailbird is the subject of this expose' - he's the mastermind that demystified the seemingly complex yet technologically vulnerable pari-mutuel wagering system. Situations are presented to the viewer to show how a technologically savvy insider could easily cheat the system and thousands of bettors...how you could take advantage for illegal profit. Witness all the fallout and eventual arrests after the plan comes tumbling down...could this happen again? You BETCHA!!
(30 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 89 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | U.S. & Canadian Flat Racing |