Account betting on Hollywood restored

The Thoroughbred Owners of California reached an agreement on Friday morning with all four national account-wagering companies that will likely restore out-of-state wagering on the signal from Hollywood Park as of Friday nights card, which includes a $251,000 pick six carryover, according to the TOC.

Drew Couto, the president of the TOC, said that the organization's board of directors voted to accept the one-year deal on Friday morning. The agreement allows Twinspires.com, Television Games Network, XpressBet, and Youbet.com to take wagers from customers outside of California on all state racetracks, though the television rights to the signals will be determined at a later date.

The TOC had previously blocked the account-wagering companies from taking wagers from out-of-state customers on Hollywood Park, citing dissatisfaction with the amount of money being returned to purses. Negotiations to reach an agreement began two weeks ago.

Couto said that the new agreement would result in a higher share of revenues for horsemen than under a previous deal, but he declined to provide details. Account-wagering companies have balked at the horsemen's demands, contending that the operations would be unprofitable if the proceeds were split one-third each to horsemen, host track, and account-wagering company.

"This is obviously not a perfect solution," Couto said. "It's a starting point. It represents a compromise for all parties."

Officials of the account-wagering companies did not immediately return phone calls on Friday afternoon. However, TVG was running a crawl on its broadcast on Friday afternoon telling customers that wagering on Hollywood was now available, and all three other account-wagering services had either restored betting on Hollywood's signal or were advertising on their websites that Hollywood was back on the menu.