NHBPA Looking at Offshore Hub
The official decision isn't expected until February, but officials with the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association are planning to open an offshore wagering hub.
The NHBPA is trying to recoup revenue lost on American races that are carried and wagered upon around the world .
NHBPA President John Roark said Dec. 11 during the Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona that the organization's board of directors is expected to vote on the plans during its winter convention in New Orleans Jan. 31-Feb. 4.
Roark said the NHBPA plans to operate the hub in conjunction with racetracks, tote companies and other service providers. He would not identify any of the other entities due to confidentiality provisions. Those organizations and more details of the plans could be revealed at the convention.
Betfair Returns Winnings Back to Pension Fund
Leading betting exchange Betfair agreed to return $348,999 in profits it made off a former company director to the MMD Design and Consultancy pension fund.
Andrew Petrie was sentenced to six and a half years in prison last week as a result of stealing almost $2,791,999 over a 21-month period from the pension fund.
"Betfair made the decision, as soon as we became aware of his activities, to return any money made on its own account to the pension fund from which Andrew Petrie had stolen," Mark Davies, spokesman for Betfair, told the Racing Post. "There is no obligation on us to do so, but because people with money in a pension fund have been defrauded by a criminal, and because we can tell exactly what Andrew Petrie has done with a part of that money that he spent on Betfair, we will return all funds that ended up in our account to their rightful place."
Boylesports Signs Sponsorship Agreement
Bookmaking firm Boylesports became the first chain to enter into a sponsorship of Classic races in either Britain or Ireland with the announcement on Monday that the firm will sponsor the Irish 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas.
The deal with The Curragh racecourse means Boylesports will take over sponsorship of both races from Entenmann's, who had been associated with the two Classics since 1999.
The new arrangement, which will run to at least 2006, will enable Boylesports, which has 66 offices throughout Ireland plus online and Fon-A-Bet services, to take title ownership of the two-day Guineas meeting at The Curragh in May.
The occasion will now be known as the Boylesports Irish Guineas Festival and will also involve sponsorship of seven support races over the two days.
Granted
The proposed Great Leighs racecourse, which is slated to become England's first new track in 75 years, also will become that nation's most state-of-the-art facility after receiving a $515,996 grant from the Department of Trade and Industry to install solar panels on the glass canopy of the grandstand.
In addition to its revolutionary way of powering the track, rainwater collected from the roof will be used for water flushing and track irrigation, and energy-efficient lighting will be installed.
Great Leighs's grant is part of a $3.1-million effort by the Department of Trade and Industry to help households, pubic buildings, community projects and commercial ventures convert to solar power.
Jockey Club and Equibase Working to Convert Purse Payments
The Jockey Club and Equibase Co. are developing software that will convert purse payments in Canada to equivalent United States dollar amounts beginning Jan. 1, 2005.
The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc. will spearhead the software project. The Jockey Club and its affiliates, Equibase and InCompass Solutions Inc., will absorb costs of the change.
When the Jockey Club first began collecting racing and pedigree data in its databases during the mid 1960s, all U.S. and Canadian race results were stored under the heading of North America.
Racing data that is obtained by the Jockey Club from all other countries is stored and received in the native currency but is also converted and stored in U.S. dollars, using the Wall Street Journal's daily currency conversion rates.
MP Attacks OFT in Speech
U.K. Labor MP Robin Cook used his Gimcrack Dinner speech last week to attack the "upheaval and uncertainty that the OFT have casually tossed into British racing."
Cook, a racing enthusiast, believes the sport must retain a planned fixture list with a balanced program and resist any moves towards a "fixtures free-for-all" in the wake of the Office of Fair Trading's plans to increase competition within the industry.
The former foreign secretary said the best way for racing to fight off the OFT and its Rule 14 Notice is by stressing that racing is a great sport and not just big business.
NYRA Officials Indicted
The New York Racing Association, two of its former department directors and four former tellers were indicted this month on conspiracy and tax charges. The racing association agreed to cooperate in exchange for deferred prosecution.
Authorities announced the indictments and settlement at a news conference in Brooklyn.
Investigators allege that NYRA managers ignored rampant corruption among track tellers. The tellers, they say, ran money laundering, gambling or loan-sharking schemes using their access to NYRA and bettors' money in their cash boxes.
Under the settlement, NYRA has promised to cooperate with the government, institute reforms and restructure its senior management. In return, the association will not be brought to criminal trial and will be allowed to continue running Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga thoroughbred tracks.
The other defendants were due to appear later Thursday in federal court in Central Islip to answer the criminal charges.