NEWS
California signals now available via ADW
Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008 4:33 PM
by Jeff Lowe
The Thoroughbred Owners of California has resolved an impasse with the state’s four advanced deposit wagering providers, clearing the way for bettors outside California to wager on Hollywood Park races through Television Games Network, Xpressbet.com, Twinspires.com, and Youbet.com.
While falling short of the national model the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Group hoped to achieve, TOC President Drew Couto said the one-year deal gives horsemen a greater share of revenue and ensures that no provider will have exclusivity for any California racetrack. This year’s races from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and the Oak Tree Association meeting were not available via all platforms.
The California Horse Racing Board had declined on November 18 to extend the licenses of the four providers for 2009 pending a resolution of the impasse that reportedly had cost Hollywood $8.5-million during the first 17 days of the current fall meeting.
“We think through the THG that we’ve developed a framework that is a starting spot to get to this national model,” said Couto, the TOC president who also serves as vice president of the THG, which has worked with horsemen’s groups at more than 45 tracks to try to increase the percentage of account wagering revenue dedicated to purses. “We’re going to do this for a year with our ADW partners and evaluate whether we’re on the right path and adjust it as need be. It’s a great starting point that can be a baseline and hopefully create a format that will make impasses like this much less likely in the future.”
Couto said he worked with leaders of Xpressbet.com and Twinspires.com to develop the deal, and Youbet.com and TVG agreed to the terms. The Louisiana horsemen reached a similar agreement for the 2008-’09 Fair Grounds meet that began November 14, though TVG has yet to agree to terms.
“The problem has been that the Thoroughbred Owners of California for some period of time were attempting to secure a national business model,” said Jack Liebau, president of Hollywood Park and chairman of the Youbet.com Inc. board of directors. “I think it got to the point that the complexity of the issue and the time did not permit it. They have now gone to a local California issue. That doesn’t mean that they’re going to give up on trying to develop a national model, but for now, there is going to be a California solution. I think the action taken by the California Horse Racing Board was helpful in probably making everyone wake up and smell the coffee.”
Couto pointed to the non-exclusivity clause as the cornerstone of the agreement. California handle through account wagering had increased during an eight-month experimental period that opened up wagering to all providers.
“While we had that internally in California, we had not been successful in getting [non-exclusivity] universally outside of the state over the last year, and now we have,” Couto said. “That was a cornerstone of the agreement and is one of the three primary objectives of THG.”
Couto said the agreement fulfills another primary objective, a greater share of revenue for horsemen. He declined to elaborate on the specific terms.
“The other objective is to set up a system that addresses source market fees, and I think we’re eventually going to get there, but what we’re looking at here is a compromise agreement of everyone’s interests,” Couto said. “It was viewed as slightly radical to get everything in one year, so this gets two out of the three primary objectives. It has to always be evaluated on a state-by-state basis.”
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
