Should he or shouldn't he be paid?

A bettor in New Zealand says it was a “bloody rip-off” after discovering that because a race he had pre-bet was postponed one day that his winning tickets worth $530 were declared invalid.

The bettor, Ray Browne, a 77-year-old former apprentice jockey, reportedly placed his bets last Friday on the $2.2 million New Zealand Derby. The race was scheduled to be run on Saturday but weather forced its cancellation until Sunday. Browne went to the track on Monday to collect his winnings but was told his bet had been canceled and all he was entitled to was a refund of his $28 in wagers.

“It's a bloody rip-off, I'll tell you that,” Browne was quoted as saying. “I'm still riled now. I threw a bit of a wobbly but I didn't swear at anyone. There's no point doing that.

“I'm not wearing this. They've got bloody millions and here's me, bloody struggling. I don't spend much because I can't afford much. I was on top of the bloody world when I got that."

Racing officials said all wagers placed on Friday except for fixed-odds bets were canceled. One reason given was that because bettors on Friday were placing their wagers on the expectation that the track would be wet and that it wouldn’t be fair since the race was moved to a day when the weather was much better.

It was just the third time in 17 years a race had been moved to another day at the New Zealand racetrack. Although a track official said Browne can make a claim asking for his money, a government official said it was unlikely it would be approved.

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