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Winning these tournaments is extremely difficult, both because of the pressure of the handicapping and betting and the quality of your competitors. There is no doubt that guys like Kevin McFarland, Nisan and anyone else they associate with are VERY good players and I have tremendous respect for their accomplishments.
When approached about joining the effort to ensure that no rules were broken, I wanted one specific item to be investigated closely. If a player did not play the required number of races and took a penalty that cost them points rather than dollars, then bet late in the contest with a full bankroll, then my feeling is that rule needs to be changed. For example, the contest requires you to play 5 races each day at a certain dollar amount. If you fail to do so on either day, you receive a 1,000 point deduction for each race you fail to bet. Thus, Nisan's total after Day 1 was 2,500 (the original $7,500-5000 point penalty). However, he still maintained a full $7,500 bankroll from which he could bet.
If what is believed to be true is, and it is clearly admitted in the story that his first bet was the Juvenile, then I'd like to see the BC change that rule. Nisan took advantage of it and I cannot fault him for doing so. But there has to be attention drawn to it so it can be changed.
That was my only concern in signing a letter that, from my perspective, was as much about getting the rules straightened out than punishing those who may have used them to their advantage this year.
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