The scheme by three former fraternity brothers to fix the $3.1-million Ultra Pick Six payoff on the 2002 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Racing Championships will be featured on national television tonight, Monday, Jan. 19.
The Court TV weekly series "Masterminds" will feature the Pick Six scam in a segment titled "Harn," so-named for former Autotote employee Chris Harn, who masterminded the Ultra Pick Six fix. The program airs at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
According to the Court TV Web site, "Masterminds" is about people with a plan that eventually failed. "Each of them had a plan that couldn't fail. Each of them was wrong," the teaser states.
"Three fraternity brothers scam the world of horse racing by using computer trickery," the Web site describes "Harn" and the Ultra Pick 6 scam. "After forging hundreds of winning tickets at smaller races, the group goes for a bigger payday: The Breeders' Cup. They place enough bets to win more than $3 million. Will greed prevail?"
The Court TV program will be the second on national television featuring the Breeders' Cup Ultra Pick Six story. Last November, another participant in the scheme, Glen DaSilva, was interviewed on ABC News' "Primetime Monday."
Harn, DaSilva, and their partner Derrick Davis, all of whom had been fraternity brothers at Drexel University in the early 1990s, each pleaded guilty and are serving sentences in connection with the crime. Harn was sentenced to one year and one day, DaSilva got two years, and Davis was sentenced to three years.
The trio's ability to manipulate the Ultra Pick Six led to an industry inquiry and changes in pari-mutuel wagering system security.