Amtote is owned by the Stronach Group, which operates as 1/ST, and Aidan Butler, president of 1/ST, said in a statement that he had “initiated a full-scale investigation into the loss of connectivity between AmTote and certain racetracks.”

The problems, he said, appeared to be “much broader than the racing industry.”

The outage also led to delays in payouts from Tampa’s tenth and from Laurel’s tenth race. Laurel had been scheduled to host the Latin American Racing Channel races from San Isidro, Chile, but was unable to accept wagers on those races.

The Tampa Bay Derby ultimately didn’t go off until 5:51, more than a half hour after its scheduled post time.

“I’m happy management here decided to go ahead, because this is an important race for the Kentucky Derby and I think they should be commended for putting the (wagering) aside and running the race,” said Chad Brown, who trains Domestic Product for Klaravich Stables.

Others weren’t so sure. The issues cost Tampa Bay Downs two races on the track’s biggest day of the year and several million dollars in handle. They caused social media to light up with complaints and mockery.

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And they led Tampa Bay Downs general manager Peter Berube to call for an “independent, third-party investigation” of the snafu.

“This can’t happen,” Berube told the Daily Racing Form. “This was a complete meltdown. We need to know who was at fault and make sure this never happens again.”

Concerns about racing’s tote system have abounded for years, but the hand-wringing in general has not led to substantial change.

Despite the lack of wagering, the race itself, while on the slowish side, included a thrilling finish in which the top four finishers were within a length of each other at the wire.

Brown sent out a pair in the race, and it was his Good Money that carved out the early fractions, maintaining a short lead after three quarters in a slow 1:16.21. Though none of the field was far back at that point, the very slow early going meant that late runners were up against it. In fact, the top four runners after three quarters were the top four at the end, albeit in slightly different order.

In the lane, No More Time, winner of Tampa’s Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes last out, moved to challenge Good Money, but that runner fought on willingly. Domestic Product, with Tyler Gaffalione up, bumped with Grand Mo the First while tipping out four wide for running room.

Those two, plus the lead pair, hit the wire virtually together. In the end, according to the chart, Domestic Product had a neck advantage over No More Time, while Grand Mo the First was a head back in third, a half-length in front of Good Money. Running time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:45.47 on a fast main track.

Domestic Product now has two wins and $314,200 in earnings from five career starts. He also earned 50 Kentucky Derby points and now has a total of 60. That’s good for second on the overall leaderboard and will be enough to ensure him a spot in the Derby starting gate should his connections go forward.

“I think this race will serve him well moving forward,” Brown said of Domestic Product. “That’s why I wanted to run him here because he needed a race like this for a little more experience and a little more seasoning.”

No More Time earned 25 points for his runner-up effort and now has 45. That’s the seventh most and should also be sufficient to earn a trip to Louisville. Grand Mo the First (15 points), Good Money (10), and Heartened (5) all earned their first Derby points.

The next points races are scheduled for March 23.