The New York Racing Association’s signal will be available on the account-wagering website owned by Churchill Downs Inc. through Monday even if the two sides are unable to agree on a new simulcasting contract by then, a NYRA official said Thursday.
Greg Wolf, an analyst with Television Games Network, will be the host for an upcoming nine-broadcast series of live races on Fox Sports 1 co-produced by The Jockey Club, the organizations announced on Thursday, three days prior to the series launching.
Penn National Inc., the large casino and racetrack operator, took $1.13 billion in impairment charges in 2013 related to a spin-off of its assets, leading to a net loss of $794 million for the year, according to financial documents released Thursday.
A New York Racing Association official predicted Wednesday that the association’s signal would not be blacked out as of Friday on the country’s largest account-wagering platform even though negotiations between NYRA and the platform’s owner, Churchill Downs Inc., had not yet resulted in a simulcasting agreement.
U.S. racetracks carded 13 more race days last month than in January 2013, and yet handle on U.S. races still declined for the month, albeit by a tiny amount, according to figures released Wednesday by Equibase.
The New York Racing Association and Churchill Downs Inc. have been unable to reach an agreement on NYRA’s simulcast signal rights despite several extensions to last year’s contract, a dispute that could result in a blackout of NYRA’s signal on the United States’s largest account-wagering site beginning later this week, according to officials.
Colonial Downs in Virginia has closed four of its eight offtrack betting facilities and shut off wagering on Thoroughbred races at the remaining parlors as a result of a dispute with horsemen over racing dates at the track this year, officials said.
The Jockey Club is confident The Jockey Club Tour on Fox will meet the objectives of raising awareness, generating fan engagement, and improving perception of the sport, and it is using many tools to ensure its success, says Jason Wilson, vice president of business development for The Jockey Club.
Rick Baedeker, selected earlier this month by the California Horse Racing Board as the organization’s new executive director, begins work in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday after passing all the government-mandated background checks.
The Illinois legislature during a one-day session Wednesday passed a bill that will extend account-wagering in the state through Feb. 1, 2017, and allow the state’s racetracks to conduct a full schedule of live racing during 2014.
