Simulcast dispute Stronach group

[Racey]

Any updates on this...sucks not being able to play so many tracks due to this.

[grimm7]

What a mess! We get no updates. A manager at local turf club said no bargaining talks are schedule until after holidays. Does Monarch and Midatlantic Coop know what effect this is having on peoples lives. At my local turf club attendance is like a ghost town. People are not buying racing forms, programs and food. Not many tracks to bet Fairgrounds, Hawthorne and Sunland. Tellers and service staff are being sent home dued to lack of business. Is there any regard to human element in this or is it greed and stupidity? Ready to give this game up I been playing for 42 years.

[Tom]

Frank Stronach - looking out for the little guy.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by Tom

Frank Stronach - looking out for the little guy.

Uncle Francis is looking out for Himself and "de horsemen". The horsemen get put first with him, after all, its a horsemen's game, bettors and fans are just a sometimes necessary evil.

[Racey]

with Fairgrounds on Sat...Hawthorne and Parx look like shit ...oh well

[NTamm1215]

If what has been reported about this impasse is accurate, why is Stronach necessarily in the wrong here? First and foremost, it was reported by both Matt Hegarty of DRF and in an article on Paulick Report that Monarch offered to allow the sites to continue showing the races during negotiations. The Mid-Atlantic Coop declined. This would have been done at the old rate. That seems highly irresponsible of the Mid-Atlantic Coop.

This impasse is ridiculous and highlights another huge problem in an industry loaded with them. Tomorrow is a day where Gulfstream would handle very significant money, but a group of racetracks that collectively take in roughly $5-$8 million on Saturdays are cut out. If it is indeed true that they have abandoned negotiations until after the holidays, then the situation is even more regrettable. It's also not a good sign that basically no reporting on the issue has occurred in the last 10 days. Should be a slow opening week at Santa Anita.

[grimm7]

Good points! Both sides are wrong in this dispute. Stronach [the man who would be king] for asking for more money in a shrinking racing ecomony and Midatlantic Coop for not accepting the signal while negotiations continued. Midatlantic disputed allegations in Paulick report that they were not offered to keep signal. Heard Parx was offer a descent deal by stronach because they race all year but declined. They want the same prices for signal for all 23 Midatlantic sites because of strenght in numbers. Don't know who is telling the truth? Both sides are being stubborn. Thay have to meet somewhere in the middle to resolve this mess. My point is the customer is caught in the middle with no say while the powers to be are ruining this game that i love. I believe this could take a long time to resolve. Might be a long winter betting wise but things will improve in spring when no one will care. Hope I am wrong! Very frustrated right know. No freedom of choice to bet the track of my choice.

[andtheyreoff]

The weird thing is that handle at both Gulfstream and Tampa, the two largest tracks impacted by the impasse, was up today from last year (albeit with no Aqueduct). Gulfstream was up about 3.5%, while Tampa skyrocketed 41.6%. Tampa's handle on Wednesday was also up from the comparable day last year.

It'll be interesting to see handle figures for those places tomorrow.

[ronsmac]

Originally Posted by andtheyreoff

The weird thing is that handle at both Gulfstream and Tampa, the two largest tracks impacted by the impasse, was up today from last year (albeit with no Aqueduct). Gulfstream was up about 3.5%, while Tampa skyrocketed 41.6%. Tampa's handle on Wednesday was also up from the comparable day last year.

It'll be interesting to see handle figures for those places tomorrow.

They'll be up again with no Aqueduct and Los al running instead of Hollywood.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by andtheyreoff

The weird thing is that handle at both Gulfstream and Tampa, the two largest tracks impacted by the impasse, was up today from last year (albeit with no Aqueduct). Gulfstream was up about 3.5%, while Tampa skyrocketed 41.6%. Tampa's handle on Wednesday was also up from the comparable day last year.

It'll be interesting to see handle figures for those places tomorrow.

Compare Gulfstream to two years ago.

Gulfstream is currently in the beneficial situation of comparing to last year's numbers which were down considerably from the previous year for the first month, or even two, of the meet.

[grimm7]

If this is true, I haven't seen anything reported. Then they don't need the handle from the 23 tracks in Mid-Atlantic Coop. So this may never be resolved? Withholding signals accomplishes nothing and not good for racing over the long haul.

[Tom]

Has Stornach ever cared about anything but Stronach?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by andtheyreoff

The weird thing is that handle at both Gulfstream and Tampa, the two largest tracks impacted by the impasse, was up today from last year (albeit with no Aqueduct). Gulfstream was up about 3.5%, while Tampa skyrocketed 41.6%. Tampa's handle on Wednesday was also up from the comparable day last year.

It'll be interesting to see handle figures for those places tomorrow.

GP's number is actually horrendous when you consider they had Aqueduct to compete with last year but not this year. Some might argue that the steadfast Aqueduct players are out of circulation this year, but GP should still be seeing a 10-15% increase on days like this. The Mid-Atlantic Coop flap is hurting for sure.

[rrpic6]

This in the front of our program at Mahoning Valley Race Course:

MIDATLANTIC COOPERATIVE, L.L.C. STATEMENT TO MEMBERS
December 17, 2014

The Mid Atlantic Cooperative member racetracks wanted to provide its wagering guests an update as to the status of the ongoing negotiations with Monarch Content Management Company.

Unfortunately, we cannot report any significant progress. A thoughtful, comprehensive proposal was delivered by the Mid Atlantic Cooperative to Monarch on December 8 countering their proposal of December 5. Our proposal addressed Monarch's publicly stated requests-to recognize specific premium content with above market rates. The Mid Atlantic proposal was for multiple years, to ensure stability and deter future disruptions for our simulcast guests.

We are disappointed that Monarch has chosen to not even respond with any counter offer or engage in any meaningful negotiations since our last proposal 9 days ago. In addition, the Mid Atlantic asked Monarch to specify, in writing, the terms of an extension during this negotiation period; despite repeated public claims Monarch would offer such an extension, non has been offered in writing to date.

The Mid Atlantic Cooperative member racetracks are focused on one goal, restoring wagering on the Monarch signals in an expedited manner. The Cooperative has made fair and realistic proposals recognizing Monarch's premium signals, but despite these efforts, we cannot report Monarch shares our desire to resolve this matter.

The Mid Atlantic Cooperative remains committed to be available at any time Monarch wishes to engage in serious discussions on this issue.

For more information contact
Phil O'Hara
(859) 305-0630
pohara@ptoharajr.com

RR

[grimm7]

Thanks for the update!