In my case I was using a bot to only bet a few cents at a time in every race so, as you say UselessBettor, the initial bet was getting cancelled and the small bet was being placed.

This was not to avoid commission, but to test various systems with my bot. Avoiding commish was not the intention.

I then was testing systems in simulation mode and got warned again that I was using the data without betting and that I could use their results service, etc, to try my system out. Unfortunately, that data does not list which was the 1st, 2nd, 3rd fav etc, so going through that data with a fine tooth comb was not what I wanted to do.

What really peeves me off is that us people in Oz have to bet $5 minimum (back or lay) or $30 liability at SP rather than 50c like on the TAB. It's a pain in the you know what, but we don't have any other option if we want to lay bet or if we want to automate our back bets.