Harness Racing: Yonkers adds new ADW partner; rebates possible

If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. That was the position taken by Yonkers Raceway at the behest of their horsemen- represented by the Standardbred Owners Association of New York- in regards to an internet wagering partner.

One of the final pieces was put in place on Thursday, January 31 when the NYS Racing and Wagering Board approved the request by Yonkers to switch from longtime Advance Deposit Wagering partner TVG to eBet Technologies Inc.

TVG, which featured the races from Yonkers Raceway on Mondays and Tuesdays on its television network, ceased the live feed following the announcement. So if you live in a locale like Nassau County, NY, you will have to fire up your computer to watch Yonkers.

According to SOA President Joe Faraldo, it took 1 1/2 years to convince Yonkers and finally get Racing Board approval for the switch.

"We pay a smaller rate now," said Faraldo on the deal with eBet. "With the money we were giving to TVG, we can do our own rebates to attract customers. It allows the horsemen and the track to participate in controlling our own destiny."

While the process is well in motion, the new wagering entity of www.EmpireCityBets.com is far from operational. Meetings between Yonkers and eBet are still ongoing and a beta test of the site is required before NYSRWB will give final approval.

Once launched the Yonkers site will offer a similar feel to the eBet-hosted www.saratogabets.com. Bettors will be able to deposit and withdraw right at the track and possible "hot spots" have been discussed to allow people easy Wi-Fi access to their accounts when at the track.

The biggest positive of the new partnership for those wagering on Yonkers will be a potential rebate system. While the track has not stated their intention, Faraldo is confident that they will make a "splash" with their reward program.

"The SOA is 99% on board with a rebate system and we would agree to give larger rebates to players who wager on Yonkers," said Faraldo, who didn't know if Yonkers would adopt a similar player reward system for on-track patrons.

According to the NYSRWB (now the Racing Commission), there are no mandated limits on the size of rebates offered by tracks to their customers.

Faraldo, who is never one to keep his opinion hidden, spoke freely on the constant mistakes he felt tracks have been making. He listed giving signals to off-track locations, bad deals with ADWs, exchange wagering and cartel wagering as four of the most prominent issues over the years.

“I see the importance in increasing pool size, but these bettors can manipulate the pools,” said Faraldo in reference to the issues with tracks making ADW-type deals with wagering cartels.

On the handle front, Faraldo admitted that the current totals are not as high as he would like. He has high hopes that the addition of former Meadowlands Director of Racing Alex Dadoyan to the organization will give them additional credibility when trying to convince Yonkers management to try new and innovative ideas.

Post time oddities

If you were viewing the races from Yonkers on Tuesday (Feb. 5), you noticed some strange minutes-to-post times being posted between races. Normally the track allows between 10 and 16 minutes from the time each race is declared official until actual post time. On Tuesday there were instances when up to 21 minutes was allotted between races.

Apparently these odd amounts of time between races are directly related to the track simulcasting their races Down Under.

“They pipe our signal in a certain time slot and we have to fit into that schedule,” said Faraldo, who said they have a two minute drag (grace) period.