Pennsylvania horsemen and breeders will almost certainly be getting 10 percent of the revenue from slot machines at racetracks in the state, down from 12 percent, but some horsemen believe the loss will actually mean more money for owners and breeders.

Such is the confused state of casino gambling and horse racing subsidies in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where the recession and a rapid expansion in gambling opportunities are muddling financial projections from state budgets to purse earnings.

The British betting-exchange company Betfair will compensate the Breeders' Cup for allowing Betfair customers to wager against each other on the 14 Breeders' Cup races next month and will also allow them to wager directly into the events' commingled pools, officials said Thursday.

The agreement is the first between the Breeders' Cup and Betfair, which dominates the international online betting-exchange marketplace. In previous years, Betfair customers offered their own odds and took bets on the Breeders' Cup races without Betfair compensating the Breeders' Cup.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Terry Meyocks, a Lexington-based racing consultant who is a former New York Racing Association executive, said Wednesday he will campaign next year to unseat a Republican senator who opposed a plan to authorize slot machines at racetracks.

The Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland will not vote on zoning bills that would allow slots into the county until at least December, further delaying and potentially derailing an already stalled bid to open what could be the state's most expensive gambling parlor.

Although the numbers are still estimates, the Jockey Club has forecast that the U.S. foal crop will decline 11.8 percent, or 4,000 foals, in 2010 to 30,000 foals, the lowest number since 1977. With no end in sight to the economic recession, a spectacular bust has hit the breeding industry. Prices for bloodstock at some sales have fallen more than 50 percent, and there has been a roughly 10 percent drop in the national wagering handle. It's a safe bet that the decline won't end in 2010 and that the foal crop will contract another 10 percent over the next two to three years.

CHICAGO - In a meeting Tuesday, the Illinois Racing Board approved applications for licenses from three advance-deposit wagering companies. Beginning immediately, Youbet.com, Inc., Twinspires, and TVG Network can begin accepting bets from Illinois residents.

Pennsylvania legislators have passed a budget that reduces the amount of money that horsemen receive from slot machines at the state's casinos, a move that will likely cost horsemen at least $30 million in subsidies this year.

Under the budget, horsemen will receive 10 percent of the gross revenue from slot machines, down from 12 percent. The budget was passed on Friday night, 101 days late, and includes dozens of measures to reduce the costs of state government and raise extra revenues in order to deal with a projected budget deficit for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Patents held by Television Games Network on its wagering technologies are limited to betting through television devices and do not apply to wagering over the Internet, a U.S. Circuit Court has ruled in a patent infringement case TVG filed against a competitor.

Jeff True, the president of Youbet.com's bet-processing company, United Tote, for the past six years, will be replaced by Dawn Haden on Nov. 1, the company announced on Friday.

True said Friday that he had resigned in a "mutual decision" with management of Youbet, and that he would be seeking employment after October both inside and outside of the industry.

"The industry is going through a pretty serious correction right now, and to the extent that I can help someone out there get through it, that's where I would look," True said.

Data that will help answer questions about fatality rates for racehorses has been collected from U.S. racetracks since last November, but administrators of the project are probably years away from announcing any firm conclusions. That policy is the prudent scientific course to follow. But the racing industry needs to be vigilant about allowing misleading statements to creep into the breach, and that might mean using the available data to counter misinformation and to demonstrate that racing is being transparent in its efforts.