N.Y. OTB's, Del Mar at odds

Horseplayers at New York's offtrack betting parlors will likely be unable to wager on the opening card from Del Mar racetrack on Wednesday because of a breakdown in negotiations between the track and the state's offtrack betting companies.

The negotiations to settle on a price for the signal have "reached an impasse," said Craig Fravel, the executive vice president of Del Mar, on Monday, two days before Del Mar's widely anticipated opening day. Fravel said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

This year NYCOTB is negotiating the deal with the state's five other regional offtrack betting companies.

Ron Ceisler, a senior vice president for marketing for NYCOTB, said Monday that the two sides are a quarter of one percent apart.

"We had offered 2 percent, they came back with 2 1/4 percent, and that's the impasse," Ceisler said.

Last year, Del Mar and the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation were unable to reach an agreement on a contract until two days into the meet.