Controversial BBC Program to Air
The BBC has announce that the long-awaited investigation into horseracing by England's newest TV documentary series, Panorama, will air Oct. 6. The show, titled "The Corruption of Racing," and is expected to paint a gloomy picture of what goes on behind the scenes in the world of racing.
The network battled in court for four months against efforts to prevent the program from airing. A High Court judge relaxed the terms of an injunction obtained by the Jockey Club, to prevent the BBC from making use of material retained by former head of security Roger Buffham when he left the Jockey Club.
The program's creators have given no details on the content of its investigation, although documents referring to alleged international drug smuggler Brian Wright, plus former jockeys Dermot Browne and Graham Bradley, are among those that may be exposed.
Details of letters from bookmaker Victor Chandler to trainers Jimmy FitzGerald and Gay Kelleway, parts of a report by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and details of a police investigation into the infiltration of racing by Triads may also be used.
Trump Thinking Interactive
No one knows exactly what Donald Trump has in store for the Meadowlands Sports Complex, but he recently told the Associated Press that he wants to turn the facility into an "interactive racing park."
The AP reported that Trump is working with International Speedway Corporation, the development arm of NASCAR, to build a speedway on the Sports Complex grounds.
The "interactive park" would be NASCAR's version of Disneyland.
The AP also reported that International Speedway's plans for an auto track around the Meadowlands has been on hold because the company and the state of New Jersey have been unable to agree on who would foot the bill for the $400 million project.
Attheraces Beat to the Punch
The Racing Channel, whose diet of British racing was dramatically curbed by the launch of Attheraces in May, is due to show the way to its rival next week by launching an interactive betting service.
The groundbreaking service will enable Sky Digital subscribers to bet using their television remote controls. Attheraces has repeatedly delayed plans for a similar service.
Three bookmakers that already operate interactive betting services--Sky Bet (formerly Surrey Sports), Blue Square and Ladbrokes--are thought to be The Racing Channel's likely partners. Blue Square offers betting on American racing through its Internet and telephone service, so an interactive element makes sense for The Racing Channel.
Attheraces, which screens live racing from 49 of Britain's 59 racecourses, was hoping to launch its iTV service in time for the Vodafone Derby on June 8, but when that date could not be met, the target was moved to beyond the football World Cup. Prolonged testing of the system has resulted in more delays, and the service isn't expected to launch until the end of October.
Account Wagering Spurs Growth for TVG
The TV Games Network has experienced explosive growth since California adopted advanced deposit wagering last January.
During the first eight months of this year, the live racing network and wagering service's total handle was up 250 percent from the same period of 2001.
TVG's handle accounts for 55 percent of all account wagering in California. Combine that with handle for licensee Youbet.com (of which TVG is the largest shareholder) and TVG's market is 76 percent. The remainder is handled through XpressBet, the online service owned and operated by Magna Entertainment.
Since California launched account wagering Jan. 25, TVG has handled $54. 2 million from state residents. California subscribers wagered $12.7 million on the Del Mar meet, which ended Sept. 11, 16.1 million on Hollywood Park's spring/summer meet, and $6.2 million on Los Alamitos, according to Mark Wilson, who made a presentation at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
Since account wagering began in California, TVG has acquired 17,000 new subscribers, an increase of 183 percent from 2001. The company's total national subscriber base is 40,000.
TVG is available in 14 million households through cable systems in Kentucky as well as the Los Angeles and Baltimore metropolitan areas. Five million of those households are in markets that air a two-hour afternoon racing show on Fox Sports West. The regional program earns a 0.8 rating, rating second only to Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games. TVG recently expanded its relationship with Fox Sports by providing live video streaming of races on FoxSports.com.
The Next Step in the Evolution of Virtual Racing?
Virtual racing products, in which customers own, train, race and bet on virtual horses, are nothing new, but the creators of I-Race believe their product will take the concept to the next level.
The I-Race Web network, expected to launch in October, will feature a fully computer-generated digital TV channel that will broadcast virtual horseracing 24 hours a day, with real-time races generated every 10 minutes. I-Race will also offer an Internet site powered by Orbis software. The operation is a joint venture between Telewest, England's second biggest cable TV provider, and VIS Entertainment, a leading computer games developer.
Viewers will be able to bet on races as well as buy horses and play the I-Race management game with a chance of winning real cash.
William Hill Takes a Hit
One of the United Kingdom's Big Three bookmakers, William Hill, revealed last week that it was hurt earlier this month by a string of wins by horseracing punters.
David Harding, chief executive of the recently floated company, said margins in horseracing had been about 2 percentage points off since the end of the second quarter, a situation he expected to be temporary. "Results go against you sometimes," he said.
He also said the group is looking to make more acquisitions. Its latest was the Sunderland greyhound stadium, which came with a price tag of £8.4 million.
Power Outage Cripples Oregon Hub
An eight-hour power outage Sept. 14 shut down an Oregon wagering hub and cost three online wagering services about $100,000 in handle.
The Oregon Call Center, which handles the wagering for AmericaTab, Oneclickbetting.com, formerly The Racing Channel, and U.S. Off-Track, went dark between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. PDT due to a burned out switch.
Steve Roden, supervisor of pari-mutuels for the Oregon Racing Commission, said power wasn't restored until 11 a.m.
The hub has a backup generator, but it only lasts for five hours, said Steve Young, a supervisor at the Oregon Call Center, which is managed by greyhound wagering service U.S. Off-Track.
Young told the Associated Press, "By the time we got here it had been running almost four hours."
Once power was restored, Amtote had to reload information on every racetrack into the computer system.
"We were crippled until 12:30 p.m.," Young said. "I don't know why these things can't happen on Tuesday."