On Track - February

Magna Entertainment Corp., which narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter of 2001 and posted a US$13.5-million for the year, expects bigger payoffs this year from Internet wagering and horse racing TV channels.

"This is the first step in the fulfillment of our commitment to broader televised distribution of live racing, which will complement (the online wagering service) XpressBet," chief executive Jim McAlpine said during a conference call last week. "Revenues from these services are expected to grow as we move through 2002 and beyond."

XpressBet was licensed Jan. 24, 2002, by the California horse racing board for a term of two years. After 17 days, Magna saw 38,000 new customer accounts.

In a joint venture with Greenwood Racing and Roberts Communication Network, Magna has established the Racetrack Television Network, which is available in most of North America through digital television or satellite-dish technology on a subscription basis.

TVG Pleased with Early Results

Despite not being able to take bets on the two California Thoroughbred tracks currently operating within its system, Television Games Network reported that it was running neck and neck with competing account wagering entity XpressBet on total telephone and Internet handle for the first 12 days of legal advance deposit wagering (ADW) by California residents.

TVG said that, through those 12 days (beginning Jan. 25), it handled $598,271 in wagers by California account holders, representing 48.4 percent of the total ADW handle. The only in-state racing available for wagering through TVG presently is Los Alamitos, a quarter horse track that runs at night.

TVG's current out-of-state signals include Aqueduct and Turfway Park. TVG is available on the Dish satellite network, and it was recently announced that Adelphia cable will carry it in several cities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Hermosa Beach, La Habra, Seal Beach and Beverly Hills.

Report Sides with UK Bookmakers

A report commissioned by the British Government into the racing industry has dealt a blow to the British Horseracing Board in its negotiations with the bookmakers over a new funding deal for the sport.

The report from consultants Organization Consulting Partnership concludes: "The arguments that a large increase is needed in payments to racing are difficult to assess but are in our view far from self-evident."

OCP believes other income, such as sales to attheraces, the media rights group comprising BSkyB, Channel 4 and Arena Leisure, will add at least £27 million more a year for the sport.

Its conclusions are a blow to Peter Savill, the BHB chairman, who is arguing that in addition to the levy, bookies must pay for live pictures of racing and information on runners and riders. The BHB would offset levy payments against the higher sums it wants from a commercial deal.

His demands have sparked a bitter dispute between racing and the bookmakers, which needs to be settled by April 30, when the current arrangements expire. Otherwise bookies will not be able to show U.K. racing in their 8,000 shops or take bets on it.

NYRA Head Pushing to Buy NYCOTB

Despite plans by the new mayor of New York City to delay the sale of New York City Off-Track Betting Corp., the head of the New York Racing Association said he will make a new pitch to purchase the lucrative corporation.

Barry Schwartz, the NYRA chairman, said he plans to present a revised plan to city officials in the coming weeks that, he hopes, will prod the new administration, headed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to turn over NYCOTB to NYRA.

Last year, NYRA lost out to a group headed by Magna Entertainment, which offered a $260 million up-front payment for NYCOTB. The previous mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, rejected claims by NYRA that Magna's takeover of the corporation would be bad for New York racing. Bloomberg has delayed the sale for at least a year.

Schwartz declined to provide any specifics about what new approach NYRA would take with the city on the matter.

NTRA Offers Betting Guide on Internet

Hoping to reach out to a new breed of racing fans, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association launched a new Web site on Tuesday aimed at introducing first-time bettors to the intricacies of horse betting.

The site, www.ntra.com, features an interactive racing simulation that's designed to educate novices on pari-mutuel wagering and account wagering on the Internet. The simulation, called "Bet the Net," allows users to place free bets on virtual horse races.

"While the redesign of NTRA.com gives horse racing and the NTRA an online presence comparable to other major sports and league offices, the focus is on fan education," said NTRA Commissioner Tim Smith. "Based on extensive research of other gaming entities as well as other horse racing Web sites, we identified player development as a key area in which we could make a real difference for our member organizations and provide a service that has not previously existed." The site is also the official home of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.

Penn National Faces Suit Over Slot Machines

Showboat Development has reportedly re-filed in Pennsylvania a lawsuit related to the operating rights pertaining to slot machines at Charles Town Races. The company, a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment, sued Penn National Gaming, which owns Charles Town, last year in Nevada. The suit was dismissed Jan. 25 because of a lack of jurisdiction.

Penn National officials said the company has not been served with the lawsuit and has been unable to procure a copy of the complaint. They said, however, there is no reason to believe the lawsuit is substantially from Showboat's previous claim.

That suit, filed in July 2001, alleged that Penn National's operation of 1,500 slot machines at Charles Town in West Virginia constitutes the operation of a casino, thereby triggering an option Showboat holds to manage a casino at the facility. Harrah's has claimed it and former partner Bryant Development had agreed to develop a casino at the racetrack.

Racing Post Blows Whistle on Race Deduction Procedures

A conflict over the level of deductions taken from pool betting by the Tote in Great Britain has erupted after an investigation by the Racing Post newspaper.

The daily racing publication criticized the 24 percent deduction by the Tote from place pools at Great Britain's 59 racecourses, as well as the 24 percent for the exacta and the 29 percent for the trifecta and jackpot.

The Racing Post argued that the deductions are high compared to those in other jurisdictions, particularly pari-mutuel takeout in the United States.

The only Tote deduction that won praise was the 16 percent for win pools.

The Tote, which has a monopoly on horseracing pool betting in Great Britain, relies on associate company Tote Direct, which has major bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral as major shareholders with the Tote to sell much of its product off-course in betting shops.

Daily Racing Form Pool Sheds Light on Internet

In a readers poll taken this month, the Daily Racing form attempted to remove doubts about whether bettors prefer Internet betting to telephone betting. The publication asked its readers, "Assuming all things being equal, would you rather place a wager on a horse race over the Internet or over the phone?"

The results were staggeringly one sided, as 74 percent of the nearly 3,000 voters chose the Internet. The poll had 2,901 total voters and only 759, or 26 percent, said they would pick the telephone over the Internet for placing their bets.