Magna and owners to meet

Officials of the Thoroughbred Owners of California said they expect to meet with officials from Magna Entertainment Corp. this week to discuss Magna's recent decision to grant rebates to a betting service through Magna's account-wagering platform, XpressBet.

Officials for the owners' group declined on Monday to comment on the specifics of the discussion other than to confirm that the meeting was called to address the rebate policy. Magna cut off the betting service last Wednesday in response to a request by the owners.

Drew Couto, the executive director of the owners' group, said that Magna officials had forwarded details about the rebate agreement on Friday. Couto said he could not discuss specifics of the agreement because of privacy issues.

The service had been wagering through XpressBet for three weeks before the TOC became aware that the service was receiving rebates. The service, whose members wager more than $20 million a year, had previously bet through a Native American casino in Idaho.