TOC,Hollywood Agreement Doesn't include ADW Host Fees

[trigger]

"TOC, Hollywood Park agree on horsemen’s contract:
A dispute involving host fees paid by four advance deposit wagering providers was not settled by the agreement.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Couto hopes an agreement can be reached with ADW providers Television Games Newtwork, Twinspires, XpressBet, and Youbet.com by the time Hollywood opens. The Thoroughbred Owners of California is seeking a higher rate of return from the ADW providers, who combined to account for 4.7% of the total mutuel handle at last year’s Hollywood meeting.

Couto said it is possible that Hollywood purses may have to be cut 4.7% if the agreement is not reached.

“The economy is going to have a much more significant impact on purse revenues than this dispute is,” Couto said. “If you look at what the economy is doing, 4.7% is much less than what is going to happen because of general economics.”

An agreement would enable fans not living in California to bet on racing in the state using an ADW provider. An agreement is already in place that allows fans in California to wager on racing in the state through an ADW provider.

“We’re not asking for anything unfair,” Couto said. “I know that the ADW companies, you have to guarantee them a rate of return to be profitable or they won’t be in business. I wish that was the view towards owners and racetracks.

“Without live racing, there’s no ADW. But without ADW, there is live racing. We need to get a more equitable share.”"

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2008/October/11/TOC-Hollywood-Park-agree-on-horsemen-contract.aspx

[BillW]

“Without live racing, there’s no ADW. But without ADW, there is live racing. We need to get a more equitable share.”"



The industry doesn't need the customers, the customers need the industry! :rolleyes:

[Charlie D]

But without ADW, there is live racing.


Yep, Horse racing paying 3 Cents For 1st place , 2 Cents for 2nd place and 1 Cent for 3rd place

Mr Couto does not have a sharp mind and he should not be in charge of anything to do with horse racing

[Charlie D]

The horse racing industry does not need enemies like PETA when you have these kind of people running it


Mr Cuoto and his ilk will kill game for PETA

[trigger]

Hollywood forced to cut overnight purses
"Account wagering through telephone and Internet sources could be disrupted at the fall meeting. The TOC is negotiating with the four account-wagering providers licensed to do business in California - TVG, Twinspires, XpressBet, and Youbet.com - regarding the distribution of revenue of bets from those sources. Couto has said the TOC is seeking a higher percentage of those bets to fund purses.

The lack of an agreement could lead out-of-state customers to be shut out of Hollywood Park races if an agreement is not reached, Couto said. The negotiations continue."
http://www.drf.com/news/article/99251.html

[DeanT]

It is interesting when the Louisiana and Cali situations are looked at side by side. We need some leadership on these issues from people who bet, imo. Bettors know what players want, and know the business model. Ask the two bettors who started betfair in their basement.

http://blog.horseplayersassociation.org/2008/10/hollywood-to-cut-purses-adw-impasse.html

[Southieboy]

Any updates?

[NoCal Boy]

As of right now no interstate ADW on Hollywood or Golden Gate. Only CA residents.

[rrbauer]

I say give these tracks/horse owners' groups what they want. They don't want our business so let's take it elsewhere.

I don't see horse racing in this country at any venue as being so important that I'm going to pay through the nose at the takeout window AND have to jump through a bunch of hoops in order to get them to take my money.

[highnote]

Hollywood Park may not exist in 5 years anyway. So may as well start planning for that eventuality and adjust your wagering accordingly.

[rrbauer]

As of right now no interstate ADW on Hollywood or Golden Gate. Only CA residents.

Youbet has Hollywood on its menu for my account and I'm not in CA.

[rrbauer]

Didn't try to bet but the following announcement is on YB's home page:

"The approval for all major account wagering providers, including Youbet.com, to accept wagers on Hollywood Park and Golden Gate Fields from residents outside California has been rescinded. Youbet.com deeply regrets any inconvenience this decision may cause its valued members and is continuing to negotiate, in good faith, with the Thoroughbred Owners of California so that all Youbet.com members may watch and wager on Hollywood Park and Golden Gate Fields. "

[scgmhawk]

Looks like you have to use an Offshore account if you want to play Hollywood from out of state.

[Bluesthestandard]

I used to live 15 minutes from Santa Anita 4 years ago and now reside in Vancouver,WA..Couldn't figure out why no wagering from my TVG today until i got home from work to see their homepage... I plan on playing only Friday/Saturday/Sunday at Portland Meadows. The roughly $2,500 that i would have wagered during the meeting will be cut back as well. If California can cut back...SO CAN I!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

[Burls]

Mr Couto does not have a sharp mind and he should not be in charge of anything to do with horse racingHow about if we just say:
Mr Couto does not have a sharp mind and he should not be in charge of anything.

[Indulto]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/99602.html
Account-wagering blackout spreads
By Matt Hegarty 10/31/2008… "We're not singling Hollywood out because we don't like management," said Drew Couto, the president of the TOC and the vice president of THG. "We're doing this because we can now. [Account-wagering companies] have gotten ridiculously low rates for a decade. That is not going to go on. We are not going to allow that to go on."

… The dearth of available signals may be what the TOC and THG are banking on to force account-wagering companies to the negotiating table. …

… The national deal that the TOC and other horsemen's groups are seeking through the THG would give horsemen a one-third share of any wager made though an account-wagering platform. Though the current shares differ widely, most deals give horsemen about one-fifth of the revenue. …

… Jack Liebau, … , complained this week that the horsemen's position of seeking one-third of the revenue from bets made through account-wagering (or advance-deposit wagering) companies was inconsistent with what the groups were willing to accept from other betting sites, such as offshore rebaters.

"The rebaters are paying at most 7 percent, and horsemen get half of that, or 3.5 percent," Liebau said. "I have a very hard time understanding why the rebaters should get a lower price than the ADW companies. …

… Another source of inconsistency is the fact that the Hollywood signal is being offered on account-wagering platforms operated by New York racetracks and offtrack betting companies. Couto said those deals provided two-thirds of the revenue to either horsemen or tracks that hold live racing - through a mix of host fees, source-market payments, and statutory requirements - so the TOC and THG did not have a problem with providing the signal to the operators. …http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/adw-dispute-a-line-in-the-sand/ (http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/adw-dispute-a-line-in-the-sand/)
ADW DISPUTE: A LINE IN THE SAND
By Ray Paulick…“The TOC decision is bad for everyone involved in horseracing,” TVG president David Nathanson said in a statement. “Purses are being cut. Horsemen will lose money. Hollywood Park will lose revenue. Worst of all, this action hurts the fans when the industry needs them the most.”

… Couto sees it differently. …“(TVG) didn’t listen to us for seven years because we weren’t working with other groups. Now they are listening because they don’t have a choice.”

… “Up to about 72% of ADW revenues are retained by ADW companies, and overall about 50% is retained by those four companies,” Couto said. “We don’t believe that’s equitable or in the best long-term interest of the industry.”

TVG disagrees with Couto’s assessment of the distribution share that TVG has been paying, saying that it paid 67% to tracks and horsemen on wagers made during the 2008 Hollywood Park spring meeting.

… Nathanson insists that TOC is turning down a deal that would bring horsemen and the tracks $500,000 more in revenue than they received in 2007. “The only reason they are withholding the signal,” he said, “is to benefit this out-of-state horsemen’s consortium (THG). It doesn’t make economic sense. …”

…Couto wrote: “To the contrary, CA Thoroughbred interests would have received over $165,000 more from TVG alone, and over $633,000 from all four licensed ADW providers during the spring meet alone! …

… “Why they would attack the only source of revenue that’s growing when the industry is in a state of decline across the board doesn’t make sense,” Nathanson said. “ It just doesn’t seem to be in the best interests of the racing industry.

… “Nathanson is misleading people,” Couto said. … We had no success getting higher rates with the TVGs of the world. We got together, shared information, took it back to our boards and said, ‘Here’s what we’ve learned.’ Our boards individually said, ‘We’re getting screwed.’ The only way we can get the TVGs of the world to change is for us to say,’Enough is enough.’ …COMMENTS
… Richard R Says:… The industry doesn’t care about me. … All it wants is my money.

Guess what: it can say goodbye to me and my money. And, if the racetracks were smart they would kick the horses out of all the stalls that were controlled by THG-aligned horsemen. If ADW’s are such a good deal with low operating costs and great profit potential, why doesn’t THG start one?Why doesn’t the THG buy TVG?

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/47837.htm?id=47837 (http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/47837.htm?id=47837)
Hollywood's ADW Dispute Unresolved
by Jack Shinar October 31, 2008… TVG owns the television rights to Hollywood and has continued to air the track's races during the dispute.

Hindman said that TVG gave TOC exactly what it wanted when it ended its exclusivity agreement with Hollywood Park one year ago to begin an experiment in allowing all licensed ADWs to accept betting on all tracks in the state.

"All we're trying to do is move forward under the same scenario that they said was such a tremendous success" one year ago, he said. …What BS! TVG ended the experiment when Del Mar started.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_10851011 (http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_10851011)
Hollywood Park to trim purses
By Art Wilson 10/30/2008… "I think in anything like this, you have to give and take a little bit," Liebau said. "I think that on equitable grounds, the (wagering) providers can't understand why (offshore sites) pay less than they do, or why Nevada pays less than they do. They think that everybody should be on a level playing field."

Hollywood Park is not directly involved in the dispute, but Liebau and the track have a huge stake in the outcome. Less betting handle from outside California means less revenue for everyone.

"What's happening outside of California here is that people are getting used to betting on another signal," Liebau said. "I mean, that's what's devastating. Those people aren't saving their money for when the signal comes (back) on. The money they would bet today on Hollywood Park, they're going to find some place else to bet that." …Congress needs to rewrite the IHA.