The final rating for NBC-TV's Breeders' Cup broadcast on Saturday was a 1.4, the lowest rating the broadcast has ever received and a 22 percent decline from last year.
The rating means that about 1.4 million households watched the five-hour Breeders' Cup. Each rating point equals approximately 1.05 million households.
Last year's broadcast received a 1.8 rating. Officials for NBC said that the ratings this year were hurt by college football games being broadcast at the same time.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien will send 2-for-2 juvenile Yehudi to Saint-Cloud on Saturday for the 1 1/4-mile Criterium de Saint-Cloud, and the colt looks fully capable of handling both the distance and the expected heavy ground. Trainer Pascal Bary will saddle Musketier, whose six-length romp in the 1 1/8-mile Group 3 Prix de Conde marks him as the horse to beat. . . . Election officials in Greene County, Va., transposed the results of a local referendum on legalizing an offtrack betting parlor on Wednesday, according to state officials, reversing what was thought to be a vote of approval.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - When Charlie Hayward resigned as president and chief executive officer of Daily Racing Form in August, he thought his future visits to the racetrack would consist of his holding a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other.
On Thursday, Hayward's hands became a lot more full.
Gambling measures that would have allowed for slot machines at racetracks were voted down Tuesday in nearly every U.S. jurisdiction where they were on the ballot, with the exception of Oklahoma.
The biggest defeats were handed down in Florida and California. As of late Wednesday, the Florida measure, which would have allowed voters to approve slot machines in specific counties, was narrowly defeated, although a recount of the vote was expected. In California, a ballot measure allowing for slots at racetracks was soundly rejected, as polls had indicated prior to the vote.
Magna Entertainment is seeking partners for its redevelopment of Gulfstream Park in Florida and for a proposed slot-machine operation at its racetrack in Pennsylvania.
During a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Jim McAlpine, Magna's chief executive, said Magna plans to proceed with its $100 million rebuilding of Gulfstream, but said that the company is seeking a partner to complete the project.
Youbet.com, the online horse racing wagering company, had earnings before taxes of $791,085 in the third quarter of 2004, reversing a loss in the third quarter of 2003 of $617,853, according to financial records released by Youbet late Wednesday.
Revenues in the quarter were $17.2 million, compared to $14.3 million in the third quarter last year. Operating expenses rose from $14.8 million to $16.4 million, largely because of increased commissions to racetracks and Television Games Network, along with increased costs for marketing.
Frankie Dettori has been given a 30-day suspension for careless riding aboard seventh-place finisher Mamool in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup. The ban will end on Dec. 8, leaving Dettori free to ride in the Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Dec. 12. . . . Ball Four, a 3-year-old colt by Grand Slam, brought a $110,000 final bid from agent Joe Brocklebank to top Fasig-Tipton's Belmont Park paddock sale Wednesday. The auction sold 38 horses of racing age for gross sales of $362,400 and an average of $9,537, compared with an average of $8,171 for 55 horses sold last year. . . .
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Magna Entertainment Corp., the racing conglomerate that operates Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and 10 other racetracks, lost $50.3 million in the third quarter of 2004 on revenue of $102.3 million, according to financial records released Tuesday.
The third-quarter loss was $35 million greater than Magna's loss in the third quarter last year. For the first nine months of 2004, Magna has lost $54.7 million, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million through the first nine months of 2003.
Horse Racing Alberta, the regulatory body that governs horse racing in the province of Alberta, announced Thursday that it has granted a newly formed company, called the United Horsemen of Alberta, a long-term racetrack license for the Calgary market.
The new company has said it is planning to build a state-of-the art racing and entertainment center that includes a one-mile dirt track with a seven-furlong inner standardbred track. There will also be 500 slot machines onsite.
The license is valid from 2007 until 2017.
An account-wagering site owned and operated by New Jersey racetracks took its first bets on Thursday, two days before the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup at Lone Star Park.
The site, 4njbets.com, is the only legal account-wagering operation in New Jersey. A law was passed four years ago allowing for account wagering and offtrack betting, but the legislation limited the practices to a company set up by the state-owned New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
