The Keeneland January all-ages sale posted its third consecutive day of lower figures Wednesday as the bloodstock market continued to follow global economic trends.

Wednesday's third session sold 230 horses for gross receipts of $4,443,800, down 43 percent from last year's total for 233 horses. The session's average price of $19,321 was down 42 percent, and the $10,000 median was down 50 percent.

Keeneland's January all-ages sale continued Tuesday with losses even steeper than those seen at the opener on Monday. But many sellers appeared resigned to the sliding market, citing a weak broader economy as the new reality - one they hope will reverse itself soon.

Echoing the recent trend at fall and winter auctions, Ocala Breeders' Sales ended its winter mixed sale Wednesday in Ocala, Fla., with sharp declines.

The auction, reduced from three days to two this year, sold a total of 343 horses for $2,129,100, down 57 percent from last year's gross for 490 horses. The cumulative average price of $6,207 represented a drop of 40 percent, and the median fell 45 percent to $3,000.

But the sale's buy-back rate improved, from 2008's figure of 38 percent to 35 percent.

A recent court ruling that requires New York City Off Track Betting Corp. to make $15 million in payments to two state harness tracks is threatening the solvency of the state-owned company, officials of the OTB corporation said Wednesday.

All-sources betting on races at the Maryland Jockey Club's two racetracks, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, plummeted 30.8 percent in 2008 compared with 2007, according to figures released by the MJC on Tuesday.

All-sources handle during 2008 was $363.9 million, compared to $526.4 million last year. The two racetracks held 14 fewer live racing days in 2008 than in 2007, a decline of 7.8 percent.

Wagering on U.S. horse races in December dropped 20.8 percent compared with betting in December of 2007, according to figures released by Equibase on Tuesday, putting a punctuation mark on a year in which wagering on races fell just over $1 billion to the lowest total since 1999.

According to Equibase, the 2008 wagering total, $13,670,196,938, was down 7.2 percent compared with the 2007 total of $14,723,993,055. The last time that betting on U.S. races dipped below $14 billion was 1999, when wagering was $13.7 billion.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A dispute over the distribution of revenue between Nevada casinos and tracks owned by Churchill Downs and Magna Entertainment threatens to disrupt betting in casino racebooks later this week.

The current contract ends on Wednesday, and a meeting between racing and casino executives is scheduled for Wednesday in Las Vegas in an effort to reach a resolution. The absence of an agreement could lead to a blackout as early as Thursday, Santa Anita president Ron Charles said.

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.

Churchill Downs Inc. and Kentucky horsemen jointly announced late Wednesday that an agreement has been reached in the months-long impasse over account-wagering revenue splits, which led to the simulcast signal being withheld and betting suspended on all major account-wagering networks for both 2008 meets at Churchill Downs.

The agreement will apply only to the 2009 spring meet, which runs April 25 to July 5. The Churchill races will be available on the four major account-wagering sites: TVG, Youbet, XpressBet, and the Churchill-owned Twinspires.

Bettors who had wagering accounts at bankrupt Hinsdale Greyhound Park in New Hampshire are being treated as unsecured creditors and are facing the loss of at least a portion of their money, according to the top official with the state's racing commission and the company's bankruptcy filing.