Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A.
Sale of Tickets.
(1) Only one method of
selling pari-mutuel tickets shall be used for the sale of tickets on individual
races during any racing day.
(2) A
pari-mutuel ticket may not be sold except through regular ticket windows
properly designated by signs showing the type of tickets sold at that
particular window.
(3) A
pari-mutuel ticket may not be sold on any race unless the race is on that day's
card of the association, except with the approval of the Commission or the
Commission's representative.
(4) A
pari-mutuel ticket may not be sold on an event for which the totalisator has
been closed for betting on the event.
(5) An association is not responsible for a
ticket sale started, but not completed, before the totalisator has been closed
for betting on the event.
(6)
Claims pertaining to a mistake on an issued or unissued ticket shall be made by
the bettor before leaving the teller's window.
(7) An association has no obligation to enter
a bet into a betting pool if unable to do so as a result of equipment
failure.
B. Bookmaking
or wagering other than pari-mutuel wagering is prohibited.
C. A person younger than 18 years old may not
purchase or cash pari-mutuel tickets.
D. All wagering shall stop as soon as the
word "go" is given either by record or by the voice of the starter. Vending
machines shall be electrically locked by the presiding judge or an associate
judge from the judge's stand.
E.
When the vending machines have been closed they shall remain closed until the
race is declared "official", unless otherwise opened on approval of the
Commission's representative.
F.
Pari-mutuel tickets shall be sold in denominations approved by the
Commission.
G. The method of
selling pari-mutuel tickets shall be approved by the Commission's
representative.
H. The manager of
the pari-mutuel department shall be properly and timely advised by the
presiding judge, before the beginning of wagering on each race, of the number
of horses that will compete in the race and any driver changes from those
listed in the official program.
I.
The least number of horses in separate interests that can take part in a race
in which payment out of the several pools may be made is:
(1) Five for win, place, and show;
(2) Four for win and place;
(3) Three for win; and
(4) In exceptional instances, with the
consent of the Maryland Racing Commission, win pools which may be sold with
only two horses engaged.
J. The consent of the Maryland Racing
Commission shall be obtained to call off betting in the various pools as
follows:
(1) Show, if five or more separate
interests are engaged in a race;
(2) Place, if four or more separate interests
are engaged in a race; and
(3) Win,
if three or more separate interests are engaged in a race.
K. On all tracks when the horse units
provided for wagering on the totalisator board are less than the horses
competing in the race, all horses in excess of the maximum number of units
provided for wagering, less one, shall be grouped together in the betting to
constitute the "field", a wager on any one of the "field" being a wager on all
horses so grouped.
L. The
association, with the consent of the Commission's representative, may prohibit
wagering on any particular horse or entry in any race. Consent shall be sought
by the association from the representative of the Maryland Racing Commission
after the entries are closed on the day previous to that during which the race
or races in which exclusions are desired. The exclusions shall be clearly
indicated on the program, and any excluded horse or horses may not be numbered
so as to imply that they are coupled in the "field." Horses once excluded from
the wagering shall remain excluded from the wagering in any race during the day
on which they are scheduled to start.
M. When two or more horses that are owned in
whole, or in part, or are trained by the same trainer, or trained in the same
stable, or by the same management, start in a race, they shall be coupled as an
"entry," and a wager on one shall be a wager on all of them. However, when a
trainer enters two or more horses in a stake race, early closing, futurity,
free-for-all, elimination, or other special event, under bona fide separate
ownerships, the horses may, at the request of the association and with the
approval of the Commission's representative, be permitted to race as separate
betting entries. If a race is split into two or more divisions, horses in an
"entry" shall be seeded in separate divisions insofar as possible, but the
division in which they compete and their post positions shall be drawn by
lot.
N. A refund of the cost value
shall be made on tickets bearing the number of a horse scratched or withdrawn
before the horse becomes a starter in a race.
O. If the judges or the veterinarian excuse a
horse and order it scratched before it is in the hands of the starter, and this
action reduces the number of horses in separate interests actually engaged in
the race below the number required for win, place, or show wagering, refunds
shall be made of the win, place, or show tickets on the horses.
P. If a horse is prevented from running due
to a failure of the starting gate, a refund of all tickets shall be
made.
Q. The "take" (commission)
and the "breakage" shall be in accordance with the law existing at the time of
the race meeting.
R. In
establishing the pay-off in each pool for every race, the calculations shall be
made on the dollar, and any balance that may result in the division on which
the result is determined need not be paid in pennies, but in every instance the
breakage allowance shall be less than 10 cents, the dollar being the
unit.
S. "Minus pools" shall be
charged against the breakage, in accordance with the law existing at the time
of the race meeting.
T. Payments
due on all wagers shall be made in conformity with well established practices
of the pari-mutuel system. The practice is to work in dollars and not in the
number of tickets. Money wagered on winning tickets is returned in full plus
the profits. Notwithstanding any other rule of the pari-mutuel rules for
wagering, in all cases, each association shall distribute not less than $2.10
on each $2 wager, or in accordance with the law existing at the time of the
race meeting.
U. Excused or
Scratched Horse.
(1) The judges may excuse a
horse and order it scratched from a race at any time before the horses are
dispatched by the starter. Tickets purchased on scratched horses shall be
redeemed at their face value unless the excused or scratched horse is part of
an "entry" or "field".
(2) When a
horse that is part of an entry or field is scratched after betting on the race
has begun, all wagers on the entry or field remain in effect as long as a horse
from the entry or field remains in the race. If the entire entry or field is
scratched, the tickets purchased on the entry or field shall be redeemed at
their face value.
(3) At a track
equipped with a totalisator system with the capability to cancel and refund
tickets before the running of a race, the time that betting has begun on a
horse in an entry or the field is considered to be the time that win odds are
first displayed on the track's infield tote board on the race in which the
horse is to compete, or when the probable payoff prices are posted on the first
race of a multiple race pool of which the horse's race forms a part. If a horse
is scratched before betting has begun, and if tickets have been sold upon an
affected entry or field before the time when betting has begun, the tickets may
not be refunded unless the holders of the tickets present them for cancellation
before betting on the race has begun, or the first race of a multiple pool.
Tickets not presented for cancellation by this time are considered as wagers
upon the remaining horses in the entry or field.
V. The result of every race is determined,
insofar as the Mutuel Department pay-off is affected, when it is posted as
"Official", and an immediate distribution of the respective pools is required.
A subsequent change in the order of finish, and a run-off of a dead heat may
not involve the Mutuel Department.
W. Except when a dead heat occurs, or when a
field horse or horses or entries are involved in the result of a race, or when
no ticket has been sold on a horse finishing first, second, or third, the
distribution of pools shall be as follows:
(1)
The distributable portion (gross pool less allowable commission) of the
straight pool shall be paid to holders of tickets on the horse that finishes
first.
(2) The distributable
portion of the place pool (gross pool less allowable commission and money
wagered on first and second horses) shall be divided equally between the
winning horse and the horse finishing second, payments being made to holders of
place tickets on the horses.
(3)
The distributable portion of the show pool (gross pool less allowable
commission and money wagered on first, second, and third horses) shall be
divided into three equal parts and shall be apportioned one part to the winner,
one part to the second horse, and one part to the third horse.
(4) All payments to holders of tickets
entitled to share in the distribution of the respective pools shall be in the
proportion of their investment on the horse or horses sharing in the
distribution from these pools, reference to payments out of these pools meaning
the distributable portion thereof, but refunds, when made, include all the
money in the pool or pools to which they apply.
X. Exceptions in Pool Distribution.
(1) If two horses run a dead heat for first
place, the money in the straight pool is divided the same as in a place pool
calculation.
(2) If two horses run
a dead heat for second place, the division is made as follows: The winner of
the race receives his full share, namely one-half of the distributable money,
and the two horses in the dead heat divide the remaining half between them,
namely one-fourth of the distributable money.
(3) If two horses run a dead heat for third
place, the division is made as follows:
(a)
The winner and the second place horse receive a full share, namely 1/3 of the
distributable money in the show pool to the wagers on each of these positions;
and
(b) The two horses in the dead
heat divide the remaining third between them, namely 1/6 of the distributable
money is apportioned to the wagers on each of them.
(4) If two of the horses coupled in the
"field" or an "entry" finish first and second, first and third, or second and
third, the distributable money in the show pool is divided into three parts,
two parts going to the "field" or "entry" horses and the other part going to
the other horse.
(5) If three
"field" or "entry" horses finish first, second, and third, all pools shall be
calculated as straight pools.
Y. Apportionment of Pool.
(1) If a horse wins a race and there are no
straight tickets sold on him, the straight pool shall be apportioned to holders
of straight tickets on the horse placed second.
(2) If a horse runs second and there are no
place tickets sold on him, the place pool shall be distributed the same as a
straight pool to holders of place tickets on the winner.
(3) If a horse runs third and there are no
show tickets sold on him, the show pool shall be calculated as a place pool and
distributed to holders of show tickets on the first and second
horses.
(4) If only one horse
finishes in a race, all money wagered place and show shall be distributed in
the same manner as a straight pool.
(5) If no horse finishes, all money shall be
refunded.
Z.
Miscellaneous.
(1) Selling windows may not
close until the horses are "off" for the race.
(2) While betting is in progress, there shall
be frequent postings of the approximate odds on the horses taking part in the
race, entries and field horses being listed on the odds board as one horse
each, when either or both are running in the race.
(3) Suitable apparatus shall be provided
whereby notice is given to the mutuel department:
(a) First, that the horses for the race are
parading;
(b) Second, that the
horses are in the hands of the starter; and
(c) Third, that the horses are
"off".
(4) Totalisator
adjustments shall be summarized at the close of each meeting and if the net
result is a credit to the company operating the totalisator, then the
Commission auditor shall be given a check from the company for the amount of
the net credit, made payable to the Maryland Horsemen's Assistance Fund,
Inc.
(5) If any emergency develops
requiring an immediate solution in connection with the operation of the mutuel
department, the authority to act is hereby conferred on the mutuel manager, who
shall promptly report the emergency to the Commission's representative and the
means employed by him in meeting it.
(6) If an error is made in posting the
pay-off prices on the public board, it shall be corrected promptly and only the
correct amount shall be used for the pay-off, irrespective of the error on the
public board, but no change shall be made in the pay-off after the cashing of
tickets has commenced. If an error is discovered before the pay-off has
started, the correct pay-off shall be posted and a statement shall be made over
the public address system stating the facts and the corrections. In order to
determine "at what time" the cashing of tickets has commenced, the following
rules govern:
(a) At racing associations
where a mechanized device is employed to inform the cashiers the amount of
pay-off "when the key or other device is set to indicate race and prices are
official and it is proper to pay off".
(b) At racing associations where messengers
are employed or telephone messages are used to deliver official pay-offs to the
cashiers, "60 seconds after the pay-offs have been posted on the Public
Board".
(c) If, under the
conditions set forth above, it is too late to correct the error, then the
following rules shall apply: If the error results in an overpayment to the
public, no subsequent correction is made. If the error results in an
underpayment, the amount of the underpayment, after it has been determined, is
added to the same pool of the next succeeding race. However, should an
underpayment occur in the last race of any scheduled race meeting, the amount
of the underpayment shall be paid over to the Commission for the account of the
Maryland Horsemen's Assistance Fund, Inc.
