Well it's 12:30 a.m. Central and I have to get up at 3:30 a.m., in 3 hrs. heading to Louisville. I haven't posted in a while as I have been talking, listening, and reading about 5-6 hrs. per day trying to get all in information I can get, on top of breaking down the form. I will be at the Media Party tomorrow night and also will be having dinner with a speed guru later that night. I will be back late Thursday night with selections for Friday and will be back on later Friday night with the Derby Card. I posted a horse at Belmont Saturday and he was scratched that day and he shows back up today in a softer spot after two nice work of the Belmont training track. His name is Gold Coast Home and is trained by Contess and is running in the 2nd race at Belmont tomorrow, get down on him for a nice payday that will carry you over for the Oaks card. I will be sitting in the Matt Winn and also the Turf Club, if any of you all are in that area let me know and I will try and put a face with a screen name.


Big Pools = Big Days, FB

enjoy your-self....i will be with 20 friends at old hollywood park.....trying to get
one of our california horses home first...see ya in a few days......

Thanks FB, I do enjoy reading your write ups.
You mention "Big Pools = Big Days, FB" and we all agree on that but with this crap about the Churchill wagering not being allowed off track except for the Derby, Oaks, and Woodford Reserve is just absolute stupidity.
I prefer to play at home on Xpressbet, TwinSpires, or YouBet, but no Churchill this year since they are not taking wagers unless I go to the track.
Maybe while your there you can find someone who can explain the level of incompetence needed for the people in charge to try and ruin this sport with their greed and complete of ignorance of the bettor.

Originally Posted by BettorBob

Thanks FB, I do enjoy reading your write ups.
You mention "Big Pools = Big Days, FB" and we all agree on that but with this crap about the Churchill wagering not being allowed off track except for the Derby, Oaks, and Woodford Reserve is just absolute stupidity.
I prefer to play at home on Xpressbet, TwinSpires, or YouBet, but no Churchill this year since they are not taking wagers unless I go to the track.
Maybe while your there you can find someone who can explain the level of incompetence needed for the people in charge to try and ruin this sport with their greed and complete of ignorance of the bettor.

Amen.

BB,

I am sure you are aware of this situation...however if not here is the overall situation....to add to the frustration of bettors NYRA is also looking at higher rates to carry their signal, so who know what will happen as the Belmont meet opens (yesterday)....like you say the bettor is not being considered in any of this...if they were we would not have all these account wagering operations to begin with

Once these tracks get casinos at least here in Flordia, racing becomes the forgotten piece and I would venture to say in 5-7 years if the casinos do well....the track owners will say why do we need to keep feeding the horsemen with purse money

Signal fight goes on as Churchill sues
By MATT HEGARTY

Negotiations between Churchill Downs Inc. and horsemen remained in a stalemate on Friday over issues related to a purse contract at Churchill's Calder Race Course in Florida and the export of the signal from Churchill Downs to account-wagering operations, officials on both sides of the dispute said.

Calder held the second day of racing of its meet on Friday, though the track still does not have a purse contract with its horsemen. Churchill's meet was scheduled to begin on Saturday, and the track has failed to reach an agreement with a horsemen's group that would allow betting on Churchill's races on account-wagering sites.

The stakes in the dispute were raised on Thursday night when Churchill filed a lawsuit against the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group, the group that is negotiating with Churchill for the rights to export signals to account-wagering companies. The lawsuit claims that the two groups are in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act by allegedly conspiring to withhold their consent for Churchill's tracks to send their signals to out-of-state locations.

Typically in lawsuits such as that filed by Churchill, the plaintiff seeks a temporary injunction against the defendants. Kevin Flannery, Churchill's senior vice president, said on Friday that the company would not comment on the lawsuit or whether Churchill intended to seek a temporary injunction.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, seeks the dissolution of the THG.

Kent Stirling, the executive director of the Florida HBPA, said on Friday that "the lawsuit is completely without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously." Bob Reeves, the executive vice president of the THG, declined to comment on the suit directly.

The Florida horsemen have been seeking a purse contract with Calder that would include revenue splits for purses from both parimutuel betting and a casino that is expected to open at Calder within the next several years. Voters in Miami-Dade County, where Calder is located, approved slot machines for the track in a referendum earlier this year.

The THG is seeking one-third of the revenue for horsemen from wagers made through account-wagering operations. The THG is negotiating the contracts with TrackNet Media, a simulcast-marketing partnership between Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. TrackNet was formed last year to seek higher prices for the simulcast signals controlled by Churchill and Magna.

The THG and TrackNet have also failed to come to terms on a contract for Magna's Lone Star Park in Texas, resulting in a blackout of that track's races on account-wagering sites since Lone Star opened on April 12.

Although the availability of Churchill's races on account-wagering sites remains in limbo, the track's three biggest races next week - the Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby, and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic - are protected under a separate contract that gives Churchill the exclusive right for export. As a result, the three races are expected to be available on Churchill's Twinspires.com and Magna's XpressBet.

Barring any separate contract stating otherwise, horsemen have the right to approve the export of any simulcast signal from a track through a federal law, the Interstate Horseracing Act

BELMONT PARK IS BLOICKED AT POCONO DOWNS AND SEVERAL OTHER SITES.THEY WANT HIGHER FEES TO BROADCAST OFF TRACK.SCREW THEM.WE CAN BET ALOT OF OTHER TRACKS.THEY ARE HURTING THEMSELVES...w2w

From the Meadowlands website:

Important Notice To Our Simulcast Customers

Effective April 30, 2008: Belmont Park will not be simulcast at the Meadowlands, Monmouth Park, Favorites At Woodbridge or NJAW.
MidAtlantic Cooperative, which represents the Meadowlands, Monmouth Park and 14 other member racetracks, could not accept New York Racing Association’s price demands for its Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga signals.

NYRA’s demands would have meant passing on unacceptable price increases on all items to our loyal customers.

NYRA has rejected a series of counter proposals that would have provided them with significant increases.

MidAtlantic Cooperative remains committed to reaching an acceptable contract with NYRA and minimizing the interruption of simulcasts.

We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

PLEASE NOTE: The simulcast of the Belmont Stakes on June 7 will NOT be affected.