Bloodhorse Censorship

[ponypro]

I tried to take part in their discussion with the Oaklawn GM. Evidently it is a "Softballs only forum" , what a bunch of xxxxxx

"Who made the decision to go with Tracknet and withold your signal from Youbet and TVG and alienate hundreds of additional fans who will never play your signal again. You could have demanded open access but instead became a part of the refractory cancer known as CDI"

I think thats a fair question of a GM. I forget, this is the horse business where denial and dishonesty is the standard.

[sandpit]

I'll offer a little insight on the issue...the guests have the leeway to answer questions or not answer questions as they see fit. I know this because I asked that very thing a couple of years ago and they told me that they send all the questions to their guests, but what they answer is at their discretion. Probably not what we wanted to hear, but I can understand only because some of the questions guests might not be qualified to give a correct answer. I would bet that the asst. gm. at Oaklawn isn't very involved with the simo signal/online wagering negotiations, but I could be wrong. I bet Charlie Cella is the one calling the shots there.

[njcurveball]

"Who made the decision to go with Tracknet and withold your signal from Youbet and TVG and alienate hundreds of additional fans who will never play your signal again. You could have demanded open access but instead became a part of the refractory cancer known as CDI"



Perhaps your delivery may have been off here? You basically insulted everyone involved including their boss.

If you get the chance again how bout simply trying with the question

Who made the decision to go with Tracknet?

[Imriledup]

I think you could have asked the question with different wording and maybe got your question answered.

I do agree with you that BH is softball central.

As to 'who made the decision' doesn't really matter that much...the guy who was answering questions is a nobody, he's not even the GM, he's just a guy who gets the GM coffee, he's got no real pull...so, it wasn't him who made the decision. You might have asked, " can you talk about your relationship with tracknet, how you decided to affiliate with them and what things look like going forward....

[betovernetcapper]

"Who made the decision to go with Tracknet and withold your signal from Youbet and TVG and alienate hundreds of additional fans who will never play your signal again. You could have demanded open access but instead became a part of the refractory cancer known as CDI"



Don't blame BloodHorse, unlike Daruty, they can't put a gun to the guy's head.
The question however is perfect and should be asked of a number of tracks. :ThmbUp:

[Blackiee]

I have pasted below from Thoroughbred Times, General Manager Eric Jackson's statements on choosing Tracknet.

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Oaklawn Park General Manager Eric Jackson said TrackNet’s commitment to seek fair compensation for horsemen and tracks was one of the reasons TrackNet was selected as a simulcast sales and purchasing agent.

“Oaklawn Park chose to work with TrackNet because we know how much the growth of simulcasting and account wagering has changed the economics of the horse racing industry,” Jackson said. “We share TrackNet’s view that horse racing content should be distributed on a broad, non-exclusive basis to responsible, regulated wagering outlets that comply with wagering integrity and compliance standards.”

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Did you notice that Oaklawn didn't mention anything about its customers, the racing fans. Youbet was Oaklawn's best simulcast customer last year according to their media guide in the amount of handle. Oaklawn's actions indicated that it doesn't care about Youbet and its customers.

[Blackiee]

My question was included in the Bloodhorse interview:
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Hot Springs AR:
With the new building that is going to be built after the live meet for the expansion of electronic gaming at Oaklawn, I was wondering about the playing area for Oaklawn's horseplayers. Is the south paddock area going to be giving back to the horseplayers? Is Oaklawn including a simulcast area in the new building for simulcast season? Thanks for your response.

Longinotti::
We are still in the planning stages on the new facility, so I am a bit reluctant to address specifics until all phases are finalized. However, I feel confident that the horseplayers will be taken care of.
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I really don't know what Mr. Longinotti or Oaklawn means by "taken care of". A few years back Oaklawn asked Hot Springs horse racing fans to vote for the expansion of electronic gaming and the horse racing fans came through for OP and the measure wouldn't have pasted if not for the horse racing fans. As soon as the measure passed Oaklawn kicked the horseplayers out of the paddock area to make room for its electronic gaming customers, also OP didn't even bother to add room for simulcast season to make up for the area they took away. And to add insult to the horseplayers Oaklawn excluded the horseplayers from its player reward program for several years which was for it's electronic gaming customers.

So when Oaklawn say its horseplayer's will be "taken care of", I don't know what that means.

[Indulto]

I have pasted below from Thoroughbred Times, General Manager Eric Jackson's statements on choosing Tracknet.

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Oaklawn Park General Manager Eric Jackson said TrackNet’s commitment to seek fair compensation for horsemen and tracks was one of the reasons TrackNet was selected as a simulcast sales and purchasing agent.

“Oaklawn Park chose to work with TrackNet because we know how much the growth of simulcasting and account wagering has changed the economics of the horse racing industry,” Jackson said. “We share TrackNet’s view that horse racing content should be distributed on a broad, non-exclusive basis to responsible, regulated wagering outlets that comply with wagering integrity and compliance standards.”

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Did you notice that Oaklawn didn't mention anything about its customers, the racing fans. Youbet was Oaklawn's best simulcast customer last year according to their media guide in the amount of handle. Oaklawn's actions indicated that it doesn't care about Youbet and its customers.Would someone please translate the bolded portion above and explain to me how freezing out Youbet and PTC is consistent with "horse racing content should be distributed on a broad, non-exclusive basis to responsible, regulated wagering outlets that comply with wagering integrity and compliance standards."

[ponypro]

The main question is, Is it legitamate journalism to let a track representative completely dodge a question , regardless of how pointed it is phrased, that addresses the most pressing industry issue. I say the Bloodhorse is a sham if thats how that want to operate.

As to the sweetheart deal tracknet cut Erick Jackson, its all part of the CDI master plan to grab as much short term marketshare at any cost while the impotent industry stands back and allows it to happen. I think this entire issue is about as far away from being resolved as ever. As it stands today , CDI will probably ultimately get their monopoly and the Horseplayers better stock up on the vasoline cause its going to be very very painful when they inflict their ultimate will on the betting public.

[Hosshead]

Would someone please translate the bolded portion above and explain to me how freezing out Youbet and PTC is consistent with "horse racing content should be distributed on a broad, non-exclusive basis to responsible, regulated wagering outlets that comply with wagering integrity and compliance standards."
Indulto, I think what they mean is Their "responsibility, wagering integrity and standards".
Which of course they don't have.
It's funny how "integrity" (or lack of it) is traced to the root of right or wrong, whether it be corporations or individuals. It takes the individual first, to transfer that quality to a company. Few and far between, do we have a shining light, such as Ian (transferring this) to PTC, in this quadrant of the commingled cosmos.

Ponypro - Agree, most adw's are all about achieving a monopoly (or as much of one as they can get), then screwing the public. (I had an account with youbet and actually liked them)
Bloodhorse show: These kinds of shows should have a host/mc/announcer (who is Not one of the guests' puppets), receive the questions, and ask them spontaneously instead of letting them cherry pick questions.
But then, these kinds of people would never show up for such a program.
It's a shame that these kinds of people, a running (ruining) our beloved sport/vocation.

----- Hoss

[racefinder2]

I had asked about the 'problem' about Oaklawn video in another post a while back, why it was no longer available on YouBet-and I only got one smart*ss remark about how I was clueless or whatever...but this explains everything....

Thanks guys...the thing is, I cant watch it through Twinspires either because I dont have an acct and cant get one because of state restrictions vs acct wagering.....I dont even want to bet, I just want to watch, you know, like a
ballgame or something, but I guess it just doesnt make any difference w these mgmt decisions....why cant the Twinspires just broadcast the races like the California tracks do, over the net, without any wagering accts? Or even have a 'delayed replay' thing like they have at NYRA or CD tracks like FG, CrC, etc.... I dont get it....Are some of you serious about like screwing over the public is their mission? I mean, why? Is there extra money made in doing so? How so? I mean, I have some common sense and wont bet high takeouts(anything over 20 pct) or crummy races--and dont have any interest in online betting unless I can do so legally and w a minimum of hassles and can get all the tracks, all the videos, PPs, and easy access of money both IN and OUT of an acct, as well as a 'rakeback' or rebate or whatever those kind of bonuses are called.

In short, Im not going to go out of my way to do something that makes things harder, just for the sake of convenience or for the profit motive of this weird 'acct wagering corporate siege mentality' of controlling all the signals. Im beginning to think that these guys are out of touch w reality.....