Tracks Prepare for attheraces Shutdown
British race tracks are preparing for the end of attheraces' broadcasting of U.K. racing. The managements at Newbury and Doncaster have announced that they are among a group of leading independent tracks that have put together "contingency plans" to ensure continued television coverage of racing in the United Kingdom.
The consortium says daily coverage can be revived "within weeks" if the racecourses don't reach an agreement with attheraces to maintain the present service on Channel 418.
The new station, the Horseracing Channel, would aim to provide "comprehensive" coverage of the sport, but would initially be a paid-for "no frills" service based on "sound" finances. Pictures could be supplied by the RCA-owned Racetech.
The announcement was issued 24 hours after attheraces forecast that it would go off air next Tuesday because a new deal is unlikely to be reached before its deadline terminating the previous contract with the racecourses.
Life after attheraces for Betfair
Officials with the world's leading betting exchange expect little change in business when, or if, British racing goes off the air. But the exchange did say it is considering sending staff to the racecourse to maintain the markets it offers after when daily-televised racing goes off the air next week.
Among the markets likely to be worst affected by the blackout is betting in running, which represents 10 percent of Betfair's multi-million pound matched trading on racing. Not only will armchair punters be without pictures, but Betfair's office screens will also go blank.
Betfair also learned this week that it would be one of 26 commercial online-only betting firms that will be denied access to a full racecourse service. Others include Sporting Index, Bet Direct, Sportingbet and Sunderlands.
SIS, which supplies the service, is licensed to provide racing pictures to betting shops and the head offices and credit offices of the owners and operators of the shops.
Blackout in Sydney
Officials with the Australian Jockey Club are upset over last week's news that Tab Ltd.-owned Sky Channel will be blacking out Sydney race meetings.
Clubs, pubs and homes will not receive coverage of racing in Sydney. Racing's national broadcaster pulled the plug after the Coolmore Classic meeting at Rosehill.
In a bitter end to the long running broadcasting rights negotiations, Tab Ltd threatened to take legal action against the Sydney Turf Club and AJC should either transmit their races over the Internet.
The STC and AJC remain committed to seeking a superior financial deal and control of their television pictures. They have vowed to proceed with setting up their own racing channel.
The STC conducts meetings at Rosehill and Canterbury, while the AJC hosts racing at Randwick and Warwick Farm.
Magna Forced to Shut Down Betting Syndicate
Magna Entertainment Corp. shut down a betting syndicate last week amidst complaints by the Thoroughbred Owners of California, who said that the syndicate was receiving rebates through Magna's account-wagering company XpressBet.
Daily Racing Form reports that the syndicate, led by former racetrack executive Don Johnson, conducted wagering through XpressBet as recently as three weeks ago. Magna ultimately cut off the syndicate's betting activities Wednesday after the Thoroughbred Owners of California expressed concern that the company was providing rebates to select customers.
Johnson's betting syndicate, which reportedly wagers more than $20 million per year, was placing bets through an account-wagering operation at a Native American casino in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
The casino provided hefty rebates on handle, according to the Form, which noted that it was unclear whether Magna approached Johnson or vice versa.
Thoroughbred Owners of California threatened to back out on its approval for XpressBet to provide California signals to its customers if Magna would not reveal information regarding the agreement. Magna responded to the Thoroughbred Owners of California's demands.
AmericaTab Chief Calls for Industry Cooperation
In a March 6 letter to account-holders, AmericaTab chief Charlie Ruma called on the racing industry to move forward in the best interests of customers, track owners and horsemen.
Ruma, also a majority owner of Beulah Park in Ohio, said in the letter that business through the wagering service was up 45.8 percent in January and 28.4 percent in February, even though it had no access to signals from racetracks owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. It also added more than 1,000 new accounts in the last two months, Ruma said.
MEC pulled its signals from account wagering providers in late 2003 in an attempt to funnel business to its XpressBet account betting service. In California alone, XpressBet handle was down 18.4 percent in the first two months of 2004 even though overall handle from account wagering companies was up 26.5 percent the first two months of the year compared with the same period in 2003.
During the joint meeting of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations and Harness Tracks of America March 4-5 in Fort Myers, Fla., Mike Veitch, chief marketing officer for Youbet.com, said business is better without the MEC tracks, and that customers have shown a preference for Internet sites over content.
The Biggest US Handicapping Event Ever
The United States' first $1 million handicapping contest will be staged Jan. 27-29, 2005 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as Coast Resorts hosts the Horseplayer World Series.
The winner will receive $500,000. Horseplayers from around the world will qualify in 2004 for the Horseplayer World Series at still-to-be-determined handicapping tournament sites.
Plans call for a limit of 1,000 total qualifiers. Coast Casino will supply 200 qualifiers from its current tournament schedule plus $200,000 of the prize money.