When New York Racing Association announced in January that it would be taking significant steps to make life more difficult for the computer assisted wagering (CAW) players, it appeared that it was taking a major risk. It is estimated that the CAW players accounted for about 20% of the total handle at the NYRA tracks, and if they were driven away, or even if the computer teams started to bet less, it seemed a certainty that handle would plummet.It hasn't happened. It hasn't come close to happening.NYRA has been far ahead of the pack when it comes to trying to actually do something about CAW play, which many believe has driven away a significant number of regular players who concluded they had no chance when competing against players who used sophisticated computer programs, were allowed to bet huge amounts at the very last second and received huge rebates not available to everyone else.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 prohibited CAW play into the win pool later than two minutes to post, meant that the CAW players would no longer have the “last look.” That policy successfully eliminated dramatic late odds fluctuations in the win pool–something that was a terrible look for the sport and a major source of frustration for horseplayers.NYRA went even further earlier this year when announcing that within one minute to post, CAW play would be limited in all pools. Their activity was capped at six bets per second. While that may still seem like a lot, it represented a policy that would cut back on the ability of the CAW players to pound the pools with thousands of bets placed at the very last second before the horses left the gate.Predictably, CAW play has fallen at the NYRA tracks. At this year's five-day festival for the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, CAW play declined by 44.7% when compared to last year's festival.The numbers have evened out some during the first 38 days of the traditional Saratoga meet, but, through the Saturday card highlighted by the GI Travers Stakes, CAW play was still down by 26.5%.Remarkably and unexpectedly, that has not meant a decrease in total handle. Total handle was up 1.1% during the Belmont Festival and it is up 0.1% at the current meet. There can only be one reason why: retail bettors, particularly the bigger players, have come to realize that they are getting a fair shake at the NYRA tracks, something they aren't getting at most other tracks. They are likely focusing more on the NYRA product and betting more on it. At the current meet, wagering made by non-CAW bettors has increased by 6.5%.A few other tracks have taken some steps to place some roadblocks in front of the CAW players. At both Del Mar and Santa Anita, CAW players can no longer bet into the win pool two minutes prior to post time. Some tracks have also created multi-leg bets that are available only to retail players. But these are largely cosmetic changes. While Del Mar and Santa Anita have eliminated those ugly occasions where a horse goes into the gate at 4-1, only to have its odds drop to 8-5 on its way to the winner's circle, the CAW players still have free reign when it comes to all other pools.Churchill Downs Inc. has made no effort to put the brakes on CAW players. That was evident on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby when there was one of the most dramatic examples ever when it comes to the impact CAW players can have. Japanese shipper T O Elvis (Volatile) whipped his foes in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes. But those who cashed on him had to feel like suckers. Racing is the only sport where you can win a bet and feel like a loser. As the field left the gate, T O Elvis was 12.82-1. When he crossed the wire in front, he was 5.87-1. It was Kentucky Derby Day and the pools are a gigantic. There was about $4.5 million in the win pool, so whatever was bet on him at the last second had to be well into the six figures and it likely came almost exclusively from CAW players.Additionally, Churchill has not implemented fixed-odds wagering at any of its Kentucky tracks, even though it is now legal in the state.Before the changes NYRA implemented, it was at least understandable why tracks didn't want to do anything to drive away CAW players: they were contributing huge amounts of money to the pools, money the tracks obviously felt they couldn't do without. But what has been going on at NYRA has proven that you can have it both ways. You can limit the play of CAW players and not impact the bottom line.It's not hyperbolic to claim that CAW play is one of the most serious threats racing has ever faced. Handle falls every year and, when it is adjusted for inflation, the declines are downright scary. The retail players are mad as hell and they're not taking it anymore. They are leaving the game in droves, something the sport can ill afford to have happen. This has to be dealt with and NYRA has provided the entire sport with a blueprint for how to do so. The genie can be put back into the bottle and there's no excuse anymore for tracks not to take meaningful steps to deal with a very serious problem.The post Op/Ed: NYRA Has Proven That CAW ‘Guardrails’ Are Working, So Why Are So Few Other Tracks Following Its Lead? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.