A Horseplayer Filed a Lawsuit Against The Horse Racing Industry And It Sounds Like Dave Might Get Involved

For a second straight weekend, My Boss Dave was the focus of Horse Racing X.com (HRX). 

And for a second straight weekend, it was a big deal. 

Last weekend, his pushback against the Computer Assisted Wagering Groups dominated the conversation, leading to headlines like this on the Sports Illustrated website. 

I have no idea who Spartacus is, but what a headline! 

And now, those same CAW groups have led to the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of a former horseplayer in New York on Friday. 

Yep, a player is going after the tracks and the CAWs. 

The lawsuit alleges that the relationship between racetracks and those groups formed a conspiracy to favor computer bettors. In some cases, the tracks actually have some ownership in those CAW groups. Things like access to the tote, the ability to make huge bets late in the betting, much bigger rebates - things I've written about here and at MutStack.com - the same stuff Dave was posting about - it's all in there.

Those things do 100% favor the computer bettor over the human bettor.  It changes prices late in the betting and lowers payouts on many bets. It's hurt the game for the average player, and there's no arguing otherwise. 

I did a deep dive on CAWs here last weekend as Dave was dominating racing's social landscape. 

Does this Class Action have any chance of paying out damages to aggrieved horseplayers who join? I have no clue. Will it lead to change? No idea. But it's brutal that it came to this, rather than the tracks realizing it's time to make it a more level playing field for everyone. The tracks seem to care for and cater to CAW groups MUCH more than they do for the regular bettor, which led to this lawsuit. 

I also don't know what kind of legal impact Dave would have on the lawsuit if he joined and brought the weight of Barstool to bear on it, as he tweeted on Saturday—full disclosure, not a lawyer.

But the public relations impact? MASSIVE. 

The people involved in the suit are not talking publicly…yet. But I'm sure they'd be thrilled to see Dave make a video about it at some point this week, getting hundreds of thousands of eyeballs on it—eyeballs that wouldn't have seen it otherwise. 

Dave asked if he might get himself and the Go Go Greys Stabled 'banned' from tracks if he joins in on this. I'm just a 20-year horseplayer, but no chance. Executives would LOVE for Dave to run his horses in their tracks. The Parx social media team worked overtime for Wondergirl Carly's win last Monday. Also, legally, I don't think they can 'ban' him (again, full disclosure, not a lawyer) as he didn't break any rules. Also, why would they want to ban America's most popular horseplayer? 

Dave getting involved in this can only help to create change and take back some of the benefits the CAWs have right now. It's been needed for a while, and fingers-crossed, this lawsuit is the push the tracks need to make a change. The other option is for lawmakers to get involved. 

Nobody wants that. 

This weekend out in California, it's Breeders' Cup Weekend - the Richest Horse Racing Weekend in America.

Racing itself will be the #1 topic among the racing elite and media at the sport's premier event. But a close #2 will be Dave’s pushback against the industry and the CAWs, and his possible participation in this class action lawsuit, and the impact on both. 

That’s a good thing if you're a horseplayer.