TAB Crash Stop Race: Computer errors bring the race to a...

Both Melbourne and Sydney have been forced to postpone the Rosehill and Flemington racing events as the TAB is grappling with a nationwide computer glitch.

Tabcorp’s entire betting network crashed shortly after 11 a.m. and participants were unable to place bets at TAB agencies or by phone and various online outlets.

Sydney stewards have taken the unprecedented move of delaying the start of Golden Gift Day.

Officials in Victoria initially opted to continue Mackinnon Stakes Day despite delays in Sydney and Adelaide.

However, after the fourth race, the Flemington races were set back one race. The new start time for the fifth race, the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, was scheduled for 3:35 p.m.

The Flemington Gathering is one of the biggest racing days of the year and marks the end of the four day carnival with two Group-1, the VRC Spring Classic and the Mackinnon Stakes.

“TAB officials are investing all resources in fixing the problem,” said a TAB spokesman.

“It also affects our keno and gaming options.”

Rosehill races were reset but then restarted at 1:20 p.m. so they wouldn’t run out of daylight to end race day.

TAB betting is the “lifeblood” of the racing industry and the computer problem could potentially result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

The decline in TAB has also affected other bookmakers. Sportsbet and Ladbrokes relied on TAB dividends for exotics, and bookmakers offering top tote also delayed payouts.

However, corporate bookmakers seemed to be the big winners, all of whom saw a surge in customer signups.

Originally published as Raceday Chaos: TAB Crash brings races to a standstill