NYRA signal unavailable on TVG

It wouldn't be New Year's Day without a squabble between a racetrack and an account-wagering system.

Aqueduct's races were not available on TVG on Thursday as the two sides could not reach agreement on a new contract. New York Racing Association president Charlie Hayward said there are two or three points of contention between the two parties, though he wouldn't say what they were.

Hayward did say he was miffed at a deal that TVG made with Yonkers Raceway last year after TVG reached a deal with NYRA.

"We're trying to conform very much to the deal we had last time," Hayward said. "But when we did our deal last time, 30 days after the deal was done, they announced they were doing an account-wagering deal with Yonkers Raceway, which in my view wasn't acting in good faith. It's been a little frustrating and I feel sorry for the TVG customers."

TVG customers were shut out of the first few days of Aqueduct's 2008 season when the the State Racing and Wagering Board did not approve the contracts in time.

Representatives from TVG were unavailable for comment on Thursday.