The “guardrails” put in place by the NYRA in an attempt to limit the wagering of the computer assisted wagering players (CAW) had a clear impact over the five-day Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga.Over the five days, CAW players bet a combined $22,109,626, a major drop from 2025 when they wagered $39,989,964. That represents a decrease of 44.7%. The CAW play in 2026 accounted for 11% of the total handle. In 2025, that figure was 20.2% of handle.Beginning Feb. 5, NYRA began requiring CAW activity to cease at one minute to post in all wagering pools not previously subject to high-speed wagering restrictions. It called this a “comprehensive approach to the management of CAW activity for the benefit of horseplayers.”In 2021, NYRA became the first racing organization in the United States to establish a timing restriction for CAW activity specific to the win pool. The measure, which prohibits CAW play into the win pool later than two minutes to post. That policy has successfully eliminated dramatic late odds fluctuations in the win pool, still a factor at many tracks where it is not uncommon for the odds on a horse to drop dramatically from the time it leaves the gate until it crosses the wire.Despite the drop in CAW play, NYRA was able to post a small gain when it came to total all sources handle for the five days of racing. Handle for the five days was $199,913,502, a 1.1% increase over 2025 figures. Taking the drop in CAW play into account, handle from retail players was up 12.7%.Last month, NYRA revealed that prior to the implementation of the latest CAW guardrails, CAW players accounted for 20 to 22% of the total wagering. That figure is now down to 12 to 13%.The post CAW Play Plummets at Belmont Festival, But Total Handle Still Rises appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.