Youbet and AmericaTab Back in with Magna
Magna Entertainment Corp reached new content agreements last month with Youbet.com and AmericaTab; the two account wagering providers are once again receiving the Magna signal. Both contracts were made effective in time for the start of the Santa Anita Park winter/spring meeting. Magna ceased supplying the signal to Internet wagering sites--with the exception of its own XpressBet platform and limited access to Youbet, which carried the signals from Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in 2004 through an existing agreement with California horsemen--in December 2003.
Pick Six Hiccup in California
California pick six players were shortchanged this month when they bet more than $23,000 into an Aqueduct pool one day and were prevented the next day from going for the same pool, which had carried over. The inequity underscored the complexity of satellite betting, particularly in California, where full-card simulcasting is severely restricted by an antiquated state regulation that limits on-site betting to 23 out-of-state races per day. The state tracks with live racing--in this case Santa Anita and Bay Meadows--determine the menu of out-of-state races on which players can wager. Pick six players were salivating on Feb. 2 over carry-overs of about $140,000 at Gulfstream and Aqueduct. The California betting menu included the pick six races at both tracks. No perfect pick six tickets were played. Carry-overs ballooned on Feb. 3 at both tracks--with Aqueduct's growing to $420,000--but bettors were unable to tap into the potential bets because the track wasn't on the board that day. In a call made to the Mike Willman-Kurt Hoover radio show last weekend, one of many furious bettors said he bet more than $500 on the pick six at Aqueduct on Feb. 2 and was shut out when it carried over to the next day. Track officials said they will tweak their betting menus to prevent the mistake from happening again.
Milestone for At The Races
Eight months removed from re-launching, At The Races says it has made more than £1 million in payments back to its racecourse partners and that it's on track to surpass its various financial targets for its first 12 months of operation. "Our racecourse shareholders and partners continue to be direct cash beneficiaries of the success our business is achieving across all key areas," Chief Executive Matthew Imi said. "In 2005, At The Races will be focusing on the successful introduction of a number of new and exciting rights-driven betting products. We will be making further announcements regarding these in due course."
Racing UK Picked as Company to Watch
At the Races' primary rival, Racing UK, was picked as one of 50 companies to watch in 2005 by a group of experts for business magazine Real Business. The venture, a dedicated horseracing channel owned by 31 racecourses, received the accolade from a long list of over 300 firms. The "50 to watch" list in the monthly magazine was picked by a panel of expert consultants, academics, journalists and venture capitalists from companies that are under four years old.
Pataki Eager for Slots
With New York losing nearly $3 million a day, Gov. George Pataki told legislative leaders he wants a quick resolution to a dispute that has kept casino operations from opening at Aqueduct and Yonkers racetracks. In a meeting with legislative leaders this week, the governor suggested that the issue should be resolved before April 1, when the state's fiscal year begins. The state loses an estimated $1 billion a year because video lottery terminals have not yet been made available at the two tracks.