CDI acquires BRIS and associated companies

[GaryG]

http://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com/our_company/company_news/2007%20News%20Releases/company_news_06122007.html

Wonder what changes this will bring?

[cj]

I'll make a wild guess and say that it won't be good for the bettor.

[point given]

I'll make a wild guess and say that it won't be good for the bettor.

At first, that was my initial take. BUT, one thing Bris did was be player friendly and attract customers . Since Broadbent is staying on to handle the data stuff, perhaps CD will learn from their mistakes of the past and actually try to be player friendly, and keep in place what has been successful for bris. Just trying to be positive in this negative business.

[headhawg]

At first, that was my initial take. BUT, one thing Bris did was be player friendly and attract customers . Since Broadbent is staying on to handle the data stuff, perhaps CD will learn from their mistakes of the past and actually try to be player friendly, and keep in place what has been successful for bris.Ooo..I'd so like to believe this.

[crownx]

start the player Squeeze/// the first thing to go will be free bris forms...

[Cloud man]

Would you like your OJ with or without pulp.:D

[point given]

start the player Squeeze/// the first thing to go will be free bris forms...

They're not free, you've got to bet on the tracks you download. This is a player friendly feature which has greatly enhanced my doing business with them. If they withdrew this policy, I'd have to rethink if i wanted to continue doing business with them or go to a rebater. It works well for both , so i hope they don't screw it up. :cool:

[cj]

Change in State Restrictions as of June 12

Effective Tuesday, June 12, BrisBET.com will no longer be able to accept wagers from residents of Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas or residents of Washington DC. Existing accounts from those states will be closed effective June 12.



.

[Hank]

When Cdi aquired Fair Grounds a couple of years ago, we local players were elated thinking brighter days were ahead, WRONG! big disapointment.:ThmbDown:

[crownx]

they are still taking wagers.. just made one to check...


as far as free Bris form.. they arent' free, you do acutally have to place at least one bet per day..

[point given]

.


No mention of bringing back betting/video of Belmont and monmouth racing though ! The wednesday track list for brisbet doesnot list them as available.
Does the buyout give them the rights to it or not ?

[Steve 'StatMan']

No mention of bringing back betting/video of Belmont and monmouth racing though ! The wednesday track list for brisbet doesnot list them as available.
Does the buyout give them the rights to it or not ?

TVG has the exclusive contract on those signals. TVG & TwinSpires (CDI & Magna) have been at war for the last few months. So, I wouldn't hold my breath, although you never know what will happen in this industry.

[BillW]

No mention of bringing back betting/video of Belmont and monmouth racing though ! The wednesday track list for brisbet doesnot list them as available.
Does the buyout give them the rights to it or not ?

Note that Brisbet is just a frontend, not an ADW. What has happened is that CDI has bought AmericaTAB, the ADW that was owned by Beulah Park. No doubt the customer service will fall as AmericaTAB was IMO one of the best. It doesn't matter to me, though as I am no longer a customer, I'm stuck with Youbet. :bang: :bang: :bang:

[garyoz]

Cheaper to buy customers than acquire them through marketing. Big bet by CDI--not sure of their liquidity situation. They also committed something like $6 million to HRTV this year.

[kenwoodallpromos]

CDI, Magna, Equibase world speed figures, internet gambling laws= global racing and betting monopoly.

[LaughAndBeMerry]

CDI, Magna, Equibase world speed figures, internet gambling laws= global racing and betting monopoly.

As it stands, a disaster for the fans, not that track owners care. Three cheers for the bookmakers:ThmbUp:

[ezrabrooks]

Change in State Restrictions as of June 12

Effective Tuesday, June 12, BrisBET.com will no longer be able to accept wagers from residents of Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas or residents of Washington DC. Existing accounts from those states will be closed effective June 12.




Looks like AMTAB accounts in the above States have been transferred to betpad.com. Anyone know of this site?

Ez

[schweitz]

Change in State Restrictions as of June 12

Effective Tuesday, June 12, BrisBET.com will no longer be able to accept wagers from residents of Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas or residents of Washington DC. Existing accounts from those states will be closed effective June 12.




Looks like AMTAB accounts in the above States have been transferred to betpad.com. Anyone know of this site?

Ez

Owned by Beulah and River Downs---still has free Bris PP's and EZ Money transfer---works for me.

[candystripes]

Looks like one of the AmTab affiliate sites that were coincidentally not part of the deal with Churchill.

These affiliate sites (excluding Brisbet and Winticket who were part of the Churchill deal) are typically offered by the tracks themselves with a slightly different skin but essentially the AmTab site, and they've contracted AmTab for the wagering/customer service features.

Not sure which affiliate Bet Pad is, as their about us section is blank.

Very curious and suspicious that Bet Pad is only open to state residents that the now Churchill AmTab sites are shutting out.

This whole industry is a muddy mess.

[JustRalph]

Did Charlie Ruma just make even more money? Wow! This should be interesting............

[ezrabrooks]

Owned by Beulah and River Downs---still has free Bris PP's and EZ Money transfer---works for me.

Parker County..huh? I'm just down the road.

Ez

[BillW]

Owned by Beulah and River Downs---still has free Bris PP's and EZ Money transfer---works for me.

I should have printed the banner page when I logged into Brisbet this morning, but I seem to remember a "temporary" tone to the message re. betpad. I hope it's permenent as Ruma runs a tight ship.

[BillW]

Funny way of saying "Your business is no longer welcome"

June 12, 2007

Dear Customer:

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced today the
acquisition of Bloodstock Research Information Services
Inc. (BRIS), the leading supplier of horse racing
information to horseplayers

As a BRIS (www.brisnet.com) customer, you will benefit
greatly from the acquisition by Churchill Downs. Our
company will continue to provide you with the best products
and services that you have always gotten from BRIS for over
36 years. Horseplayers will continue to get the high
quality handicapping tools and be assured that the most
trusted name in horse racing, Churchill Downs, now stands
behind continuing to offer you the best handicapping
products on a daily basis.

To ensure a seamless transition for you, Happy Broadbent is
joining the Churchill Downs team and will continue to
manage the BRIS data service companies.

In the future, we look forward to introducing exciting new
products and services that will further enhance your
Thoroughbred information needs. If you have any questions
or comments, we'd love to hear from you. Just email me at
AskBob@kyderby.com.

We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing
to provide you with one-stop shopping for all your
handicapping needs.

Warm regards,



Bob Evans
President and Chief Executive Officer
Churchill Downs Incorporated

Of course the "benefit greatly" part may referring to saving me from their anticipated level of cust. svc. by just dropping me now. :eek: :lol: :lol:

[skate]

At first, that was my initial take. BUT, one thing Bris did was be player friendly and attract customers . Since Broadbent is staying on to handle the data stuff, perhaps CD will learn from their mistakes of the past and actually try to be player friendly, and keep in place what has been successful for bris. Just trying to be positive in this negative business.

because the players make it negative...:(

[Zman179]

I noticed that brisbet.com took down the state restrictions from its website. Maybe they changed their minds?

As far as brisbet goes, I'll stay with them until they give me a reason to leave.

[schweitz]

I should have printed the banner page when I logged into Brisbet this morning, but I seem to remember a "temporary" tone to the message re. betpad. I hope it's permenent as Ruma runs a tight ship.

Under the "What's new" section at Betpad they have news going back to 2003.

[schweitz]

I noticed that brisbet.com took down the state restrictions from its website. Maybe they changed their minds?

As far as brisbet goes, I'll stay with them until they give me a reason to leave.

If you are in one of the restricted states you get forwarded to Betpad to sign up.

[schweitz]

Parker County..huh? I'm just down the road.

Ez

Weatherford?

[BillW]

Under the "What's new" section at Betpad they have news going back to 2003.

I was thinking of the screen that came up when I tried to log into Brisbet this morning. It had some text explaining the buyout and that Texas was no longer eligible for their service. They then had a field to authorize transfer to BetPad that included some text that was something to the effect that it was temporary until the transaction for AmericaTAB was complete. As I said, I wish I had printed it out now as I can't remember the exact text.

Bill

[Sherry]

Attention AmericaTab account holders:

Please be advised that Churchill Downs has purchased AmericaTab Ltd., effective on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. While Churchill has taken over the management and operation of most accounts, there are some states, including the one in which you reside, where AmericaTab will no longer be able to accept wagers at this time, because regulatory or other approval processes are not yet completed. Your account will be managed by Betpad.com, which is a site owned and operated by Beulah Park and River Downs, the originators of the AmericaTab system.

All of the content and platform will be identical to the AmericaTab system and you should not recognize any difference in the service at all. Customer Service will be available at the same number to answer any questions or guide you with any technical problems.

In order to affect this change, you will need to sign-in with your existing AmericaTab account at your AmericaTab affiliate website. Once you do so, you will be asked to make the transfer of your account to Betpad.com.

If this is not acceptable, AmericaTab will close your account and forward all ending balances directly back to you. Please contact Customer Service with instructions to close your account. Thank you for your continued business, and should you have any questions or experience any problems with your transfer, please call Betpad.com Customer Service at 1-866-891-5100.


Sincerely,

Betpad.com

[Fred]

They Say-BRIS, which currently employs approximately 90 staff members, will maintain its current offices in Lexington, Kentucky. No staffing changes are currently anticipated as a result of the acquisitions.


WANNA BET?


Freddy

[GaryG]

They Say-BRIS, which currently employs approximately 90 staff members, will maintain its current offices in Lexington, Kentucky. No staffing changes are currently anticipated as a result of the acquisitions.


WANNA BET?


FreddyThis is corporate speak for "not until our suits get a handle on things". Some sweaty palms in Lexington I would guess.

[lsbets]

So first to bet the Derby I had to use brisbet. To bet the belmont I had to use youbet. Now if I want to play Churchill, I have to use betpad because I live in Texas. If I want to play Hollywood I can use youbet or betpad, but not brisbet, but I have to call to use betpad if I'm playing Hollywood. I have no idea where I can bet the summer meets. Why can't they make it easy for the people who want to support the sport?

[BillW]

Sherry,

That's it! Thanks,

Bill

[ezrabrooks]

Weatherford?

Yep...we have probably crossed paths at either TM or LS.

Ez

[ranchwest]

They Say-BRIS, which currently employs approximately 90 staff members, will maintain its current offices in Lexington, Kentucky. No staffing changes are currently anticipated as a result of the acquisitions.


WANNA BET?


Freddy

Yeah, I wanna bet. Now, how?

[dutchboy]

Brisbet website mentions betpad.com. If www.betpad.com (http://www.betpad.com) is typed in the browser nothing appears. A search for either bet pad or net pad returns nothing.I also notice talk of netpad. Only netpad website I find is for paper products not racing.

[tholl]

This is corporate speak for "not until our suits get a handle on things". Some sweaty palms in Lexington I would guess.

Not mine !!

[BillW]

Brisbet website mentions betpad.com. If www.betpad.com (http://www.betpad.com) is typed in the browser nothing appears. A search for either bet pad or net pad returns nothing.I also notice talk of netpad. Only netpad website I find is for paper products not racing.

It's working OK here.

[JustRalph]

BETPAD.COM

Registrant:
Heartland Jockey Club, Ltd.
3664 Grant Avenue
Grove City, OH 43123US

Domain Name: BETPAD.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Heartland Jockey Club, Ltd. duran@americatab.com
3664 Grant Avenue
Grove City, OH 43123
US
(606) 281-2330

[Sherry]

In which states can I subscribe to the
BetPad.com service?

The service is currently open only to legal U.S. residents. Betpad.com ONLY accepts accounts from the following states: Colorado, District of Columbia, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas. This list is subject to change if states' policies change. Listed addresses are verified through several sources.

[garyoz]

They Say-BRIS, which currently employs approximately 90 staff members, will maintain its current offices in Lexington, Kentucky. No staffing changes are currently anticipated as a result of the acquisitions.


WANNA BET?


Freddy
Personally I am ambivelant about BRIS and not a big fan. However, BRIS has a long history of being a quality, customer-oriented company. IMHO the biggest threat facing BRIS is the quality improvements at DRF.com. CDI may well be paying a peak market price for BRIS. This is not a leveraged-buyout. The cash flow to be gained by reducing headcount at BRIS is rounding error to the overall CDI operation. The question is the terms of the acquisition, the mix betwen equity in CDI and cash.

It seems to me AmericaTab had a good business going before they went with the CDSN/Magna exclusivity. They made the decision to go with the exclusivity because they were reportedly in talks to be acquired by CDI. IMHO the key here is buying the AmericaTab customers--and BRIS was bundled along as part of the package. Sort of if it ain't broke....

Another question is what happens with the NYRA franchise. It seems that the Magna/CDI partnership has faded in its bid. Spitzer is predictable--and will make a decision that benefits him, personally. No question about what sleazeball he is. It does not appear as if the franchise license is moving toward the CDI/Magna group. This is critical as consolidation is occuring in the ADW/Video distribution business. So you end up with TVG/Youbet vs. Magna/CDSN. IMHO no problem with a duopoly structure in the non-rebate segment of the market.

Twin Spires was not going to attract any customers. They had to buy them. Magna is the freerider.

[Tom]

I have always said that this game was run by morons.
Guess I have to retrack that.
This is below moronic.
Far below.
















Far, far below.

[trigger]

I have always said that this game was run by morons.
Guess I have to retrack that.
This is below moronic.
Far below.

Far, far below.

Below moronic and you keep playing with them

[rrpic6]

Did Charlie Ruma just make even more money? Wow! This should be interesting............

Quite a coup for the wise old Billionaire from Columbus. Since the overhead was next to nothing in their home office, this is pure cash for the staff. It looks like CDI wants the Winticket staff to undo the twinspires.com mess. Give Charlie a big thumbs up for getting millions in exchange for knowledge. Unless he's changed for the worse, Charlie made sure all his Winticket staff would keep their jobs, and possibly some will move to Louisville, at a higher wage.:ThmbUp:

RR

[rrbauer]

Personally I am ambivelant about BRIS and not a big fan. However, BRIS has a long history of being a quality, customer-oriented company. IMHO the biggest threat facing BRIS is the quality improvements at DRF.com. CDI may well be paying a peak market price for BRIS. This is not a leveraged-buyout. The cash flow to be gained by reducing headcount at BRIS is rounding error to the overall CDI operation. The question is the terms of the acquisition, the mix betwen equity in CDI and cash....

Twin Spires was not going to attract any customers. They had to buy them. Magna is the freerider




The reported price for the package is $80 million. Plus, there is earn-out potential of another $7 million but how that breaks down across the different organizations, I don't know.

I think the sellers did the right thing from a financial perspective as none of the organizations would make good IPO candidates so a private purchase was the only way they (the sellers) could take some cash off the table. Bringing Happy Broadbent into the CDI fold should provide some stability (where perception is reality) for the BRIS and TSN operations and limit the number of folks who jump ship in fear of the headcount loppers. However, in my experience, Happy looks out for Happy, so today's "warm and fuzzy" could easily give way to tomorrow's "freeze out".

I agree that this was the easiest way for CDI to build its customer base for both account wagering and ancillary data services. If they keep a hands-off posture as they say they will that will go a long way towards not mucking up what they bought.

[Lasix1]

If they keep a hands-off posture as they say they will that will go a long way towards not mucking up what they bought.
And if grasshoppers carried guns the birds wouldn't f**k with them.

[Zman179]

And if grasshoppers carried guns the birds wouldn't f**k with them.

Not exactly sure what that means, but I like the sound of it. :lol: :lol:

[horsemandan]

This is corporate speak for "not until our suits get a handle on things". Some sweaty palms in Lexington I would guess.

I have been reading these boards for quite sometime now and never really felt compelled to say anything before but I just got to say that I don't get that opinion at all. I have belonged to Bris for quite sometime now and am a big fan of their ultimates to the point I wouldn't go to the track without them. When I first started using them, Bob over there was a big help in understanding everything on them and Mr. Turner (I can't remember his first name right now to save my life) was a big help in learning how to apply all of that info into my betting. I'm not claiming to be making a fortune right now by any means but I sure get a lot more bang for my buck. When I heard about all of this the other day, I called and talked to Mr. Turner and he seemed very excited by the change. He never really said as much but I kind of got the feeling that maybe they, the employees, did ok with the sale themselves. Like I said, he didn't say that but he was very excited by the change. He told me that whenever I called in, I would still be talking to the same people I have always talked to and have been helpful to me in the past. Maybe their palms are sweating but he sure didn't act like it. If anything, it was the exact opposite. Just my two cents.

[GaryG]

I have been reading these boards for quite sometime now and never really felt compelled to say anything before but I just got to say that I don't get that opinion at all. I have belonged to Bris for quite sometime now and am a big fan of their ultimates to the point I wouldn't go to the track without them. When I first started using them, Bob over there was a big help in understanding everything on them and Mr. Turner (I can't remember his first name right now to save my life) was a big help in learning how to apply all of that info into my betting. I'm not claiming to be making a fortune right now by any means but I sure get a lot more bang for my buck. When I heard about all of this the other day, I called and talked to Mr. Turner and he seemed very excited by the change. He never really said as much but I kind of got the feeling that maybe they, the employees, did ok with the sale themselves. Like I said, he didn't say that but he was very excited by the change. He told me that whenever I called in, I would still be talking to the same people I have always talked to and have been helpful to me in the past. Maybe their palms are sweating but he sure didn't act like it. If anything, it was the exact opposite. Just my two cents.CDI is running background checks on the employees as we speak...This from a current department head. They were there immediately. We will just have to see where it goes.

[horsemandan]

Most businesses do background checks nowadays, looking for arrests and what not. If someone doesn't have any issues, I wouldn't think they'd have anything to worry about.

[Secretariat]

Does this purchase also include TSN which essentially is Bris lite and run by the Broadbents?

[GaryG]

Does this purchase also include TSN which essentially is Bris lite and run by the Broadbents?Yes....Happy is still running them all.

[Premier Turf Club]

Does this purchase also include TSN which essentially is Bris lite and run by the Broadbents?

Yes, I believe so.