A serious malfunction in some of Scientific Games' horse race wagering machines has prompted an investigation into how long the company knew of the problem.
It was recently discovered that the Quick-Pick function on the company's BetJet machines never includes the last entrant in each race among its picks. A man at the Bay Meadows track in California discovered the glitch after placing 1,300 quick-pick bets on the Kentucky Derby. The race winner, Big Brown, did not appear on any of the man's betting slips.
Approximately 7,000 machines across the U.S. are thought to have been affected.
The chairman of California's Horse Racing Board suspects Scientific Games may have known about the problem for several weeks.
"We have contacted Sci Games and they apparently became aware of this problem in February, but failed to disclose it to its customers, or certainly to us in California," wrote Shapiro in a message to other racing officials.
Shapiro later lowered his tone. He told InsideBayArea.com: "This is not something I know for sure. I was told by somebody that this situation may have existed back in February and may have been brought to (Scientific Games') attention."
California's Horse Racing Board is investigating the situation.