Lone Star to cut purses

Lone Star Park in Texas plans to cut purses across the board by 10 percent beginning May 8, citing declining wagering revenue because of a blackout of the track's signal on account-wagering platforms, the track said Tuesday.

Organizations representing horsemen have blocked the export of Lone Star's signal to account-wagering companies since the meet began on April 12. A company representing the horsemen in the negotiations, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group, has pressed Lone Star to direct one-third of the revenue from in-home bets on the track's races to horsemen, but Lone Star, through its own negotiating partner, TrackNet Media, has balked at the demand.

The Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group and TrackNet are also locked in a stalemate over the export of the signal from Calder Race Course and Churchill Downs to account-wagering companies. The dispute has shown no signs of being resolved soon.

TrackNet is owned by Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. Churchill owns Calder, and Magna owns Lone Star Park.

On Sunday, Churchill cut purses at Calder by 30 percent.