Everyone agrees that the interactive pari-mutuel industry will become enormous in coming months, but how it all will shake out is still anyone's guess. If you're trying to stay on top of things, be sure not to blink, because new pieces of the puzzle are falling in place faster than you can say "Kyl bill exemption." This week, You Bet, TrackPower, TVG and Starnet are all on the move.
Youbet.com, the operators of an increasingly popular closed-loop interactive pari-mutuel betting network, recently mailed 97,000 CD-ROMs to horse bettors throughout the U.S. A spokesman from Youbet.com said that the company was stunned by the response from harness racing followers. "Our response from the harness people was 20% higher than from the thoroughbred side," he said, and added that Youbet.com is so pleased with the response that it now plans to distribute another mailing of 300,000 CDs.
Moving onto a larger closed-loop (i.e. the Internet) where wagering isn't yet legal, Bally's at Ocean Downs, located in Berlin, Maryland, has entered into a simulcast agreement with Starnet Communications International, Inc. Coverage of Bally's at Ocean Downs races will be broadcast on Starnet's Internet gaming site, where bettors outside the U.S. and Canada will have access to up-to-the-minute track odds, handicapping information, and live audio and video racing coverage.
Meanwhile, TrackPower, struggling to attract subscribers to its racing satellite betting service, is moving to the Dish Network. TrackPower has only about 100 current subscribers, but hopes to have 11,000--its breakeven point--by September on the Dish Network, which is similar to Direct TV. TrackPower GM Graham Simmons said poor marketing was responsible for the slow start.
Finally, Television Games Network has announced that it will launch its interactive racing channel July 14, with 12 hours of live racing and 12 hours of other features including polo, steeplechases, hunters and jumpers, merchandising and "anything to celebrate the horse."