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by Ed DeRosa
The International Tote Protocol Standards Committee agreed to adopt version 6.0 of the International Tote System Protocol at its second annual meeting on Tuesday.
J. Curtis Linnell, director of wagering analysis for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, said that North American racing could have the latest version of the protocol online by the third quarter of 2009, a move that would offer bettors more peace of mind from an integrity standpoint as well as increased wagering options and information.
Version 6.0 allows different tote companies to process different types of wagers. The Grand Slam wager that the New York Racing Association offers is not available throughout the United States because not all tote companies can handle the unique nature of the wager, which requires the bettor to pick three horses to show before picking a winner.
From an integrity standpoint, version 6.0 will reduce the time it takes a tote company to detect a com (communications) link failure. The current protocol takes as long as 45 seconds to detect a failure, which could lead to pools remaining open after the start of a race. The new version would identify a failure within six seconds.
The updated version also allows more detailed information regarding scratches, including which specific parts of an entry have been scratched from a race.
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