History often repeats itself, but sometimes it rhymes. Back in the day, the ‘Milkman’ was a local legend in Britain who provided more than just dairy: he provided the ‘fix’. Whether it was a drugged horse or a bribed jockey, the Milkman operated in the shadows of the backstretch, engaging in illegal theft to drain the bookmakers and gambling public.
Fast forward to 2026, and the shadows have been replaced by fiber optic cables. The methods are cleaner, the bankrolls are in the billions, and the theft isn’t just common: it’s punished by the numbers we trust. Meet the modern ‘Joker’ Zeljko Ranogajecand his partner Bernard Marantelli. They don’t break the law; they simply industrialized it.
Until recently I didn’t believe that The Joker or his cohort Bernard were the forces behind Elite 17, the CAW team is often said to be one of the big players with better discounts and host fees. Now I’m not so sure, as there is a world of circumstantial evidence pointing to them investing heavily, or at least investing heavily in US racing pools.
The “Insider” Advantage: Legalized Pool Rigging
If you see how your 10-1 shot suddenly pays 3-1 as soon as the gates open, you may have met the Joker. Ranogajec and Marantelli are the likely kings of it Computer Aided Betting (CAW).
Unlike the Milkman, who had to circumvent the law, these Australian whales are the tracks’ best customers. Through entities such as Elite Turf Club-owned by The Stronach Group And Myra– they receive privileges that would make a retail gambler’s head spin:
- Direct access to bags: They see the money flowing into the pools in real time, faster than any retail simulcast feed.
- Huge discounts: They receive significant discounts and lower fees that are not available to the public. This allows them to benefit from razor-thin margins that would put a retail player out of business.
- The last second “batch”: Their algorithms dump huge ‘batch’ bets in the final seconds before a race, essentially ‘crushing’ the value of every ticket held by the general public, who are stuck with worse finishing odds than they bought.
The RICO hammer of 2025: call it what it is
The era of ‘legal theft’ hit a huge wall in late 2025. A landmark class action lawsuit, Ryan Dickey v. Stronach Group et al.filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, has officially brought the word “Racketeering” back to the circuit.
The lawsuit alleges that major US racing entities –Churchill Downs, MyraAnd Pages—in addition to CAW platforms Elite Turf Club And Speedparticipated in a ‘Pool Rigging Enterprise’. The complaint alleges that these entities used algorithms and AI to create a “rigged system” that siphons billions of dollars from gamblers to a small circle of insiders. Steve Berman, the lead attorney, describes it as a “modern reverse Robinhood scenario” where wealthy insiders steal from average retail players.
Beyond the Track: the Texas “Heist”
The syndicate’s “legal theft” is not limited to the premises. In 2025, an investigation revealed how Marantelli and Ranogajec (operating under the Delaware entity Smoke TX LP) orchestrated a logistical ‘attack’ on a $95 million Texas Lotto jackpot.
They didn’t just “play” the lottery; she shielded on top. Deploying a 30-man strike team in a former dental office and reportedly even using children to help process the cards, they printed almost every possible combination of numbers: 100 cards per second.
- The result: The consequences were so serious that Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 3070which one abolished the Texas Lottery Commission As of September 1, 2025, the activities will be transferred to the Department of Licensing and Regulation.
- The verdict: Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called it the “the largest theft from the people of Texas in the history of the state.”
The Milkman vs. the Joker
The Milkman was a predator, but at least he was an outsider. The Joker is an invitee.
The American horse racing industry is currently facing a reckoning. When the ‘house’ gives its biggest winner an edge and a faster computer, the game is no longer pari-mutuel: it is a tax on the uninformed.
Are these really the people our sport wants to give the keys to the car? We all know our bag system is dilapidated and these guys are advanced. Does that end well?
Whether it’s the Spicewood dentist’s office where the Texas lotto was robbed or the air-conditioned servers of the Elite Turf Club, the message is clear: the Milkman only took your money; The Joker takes up the sport himself.
This is who we are playing against.
“Flounder for tuna”
We’ll need it.
#kings #computerassisted #betting