Horse Racing archive

Santa Anita Park will open Saturday to begin its autumn season with five Breeders Cup “Win and You’re In” races.

While the five races will not feature Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, the horse is stabled at Santa Anita, where he trains almost every morning.

The winners of each of these “Win and You’re In” races is guaranteed entry into this year’s Breeders Cup field.

American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, is planning to race in the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic on Oct. 31st in what is expected to be his final race.

American Pharoah will attemp to complete the first horse racing Grand Slam in history.

“It would be tremendously exciting to have American Pharoah attempt to become the first 3-year-old to complete the Grand Slam of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic by facing the best horses in the world at Keeneland,” said Jim Gluckson, who handles media relations for the Breeders’ Cup.

The Santa Anita Autumn Meeting features free general admission and parking every weekday, and free general admission and parking in the infield every weekend day.

Gates open to fans at 10:30 a.m., but the live horse racing will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Santa Anita Park is at 285 W. Huntington Drive in Arcadia.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)



Horse betting sites: forum-ixgames-com/horse-racing/31868-horse-betting-sites-html

Negotiations between state officials and horse-racing leaders continued Wednesday as the two sides attempt to broker a deal that would keep the racing industry alive in Pennsylvania.

Brandi Hunter-Davenport, press secretary for the state Department of Agriculture, said that negotiations Wednesday were productive and are slated to continue through the end of the week.

She declined to identify specific areas of progress but said the two sides were inching toward a deal.

Gov. Wolf has threatened to close the state's six race tracks if the horse-racing industry does not shoulder more costs, such as licensing fees and drug testing. The state has covered the costs of regulating the industry as revenues from horse betting have declined, but the money stopped flowing during the budget stalemate, and Wolf has used the opportunity to ask the industry to fund more of those costs.

Read more at Pa. horse-racing talks continue

An update to Michigan's 20-year-old horse racing statute pending in the state Senate could reconfigure the way purse money is paid out to the state's two remaining tracks.

Senate Bill 504, introduced by Sen. David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc Township, would update a 1995 state law that deals with everything from revenue distribution to the number of days of live racing.

Robertson did not return messages seeking comment.

Perhaps the biggest change in his bill? What supporters call a "breed-specific distribution model," requiring that 100 percent of the money wagered on thoroughbred and standardbred simulcast races stays with the respective horsemen's groups for the following year's purses.

Current practice splits the wagers placed on simulcast thoroughbred and standardbred races. After winning bettors receive their payouts and a 3.5 percent state tax is paid, the remainder of the common purse pool is divided with roughly 60 percent going to standardbred groups and about 40 percent going to thoroughbred groups, said George Kutlenios, president of the Howell-based Michigan Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, which represents thoroughbred racers.

That tilts the funding balance in favor of standardbred groups.

The issue now is whether that's fair, considering seven race tracks have closed across the state since 1998. Just two remain — Hazel Park Raceway, which operates as a thoroughbred track, and Northville Downs, which holds live harness races.

"Why can't we just make it fair?" Kutlenios said.

Top executives at Hazel Park and Northville Downs disagree on the structure of purse changes.

Dan Adkins, vice president of Southfield-based real estate developer Hartman and Tyner Inc. and vice president of the Hazel Park track, said any challenge mounted by the standardbred industry is an effort to keep its share of the revenue pool intact, since harness racing benefits most from the existing setup.

Yet revenue splitting is "always going to be a constant battle between the groups that do operate in Michigan, and the reason why it's such a battle is because that pot continues to shrink year after year," said Mike Carlo, operations manager of family-owned Northville Downs. "Everybody, naturally, is trying to hold on to the biggest piece that they can, and I don't begrudge anybody for trying to do that."

Betting at Michigan's horse tracks has been sliding for 15 years, with wagers falling nearly 8 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year, according to an annual report issued in April by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which regulates the industry.

The $116.8 million horse bettors waged in 2014 generated state tax revenue of $3.9 million, a loss of nearly 13 percent from the year before. Northville Downs reported a combined $40.6 million last year in live and simulcast wagers, with all but $465,000 coming from simulcast races. Hazel Park had a total of $60.4 million in bets placed.

The two tracks do agree on this: The horse racing industry needs to generate additional income if it is to remain viable.

Horse racing has lost ground in Michigan as gamblers increasingly have other options — casinos, expanded lottery games and fantasy sports. But Michigan governors have resisted efforts to allow horse tracks to install slot machines or video lottery terminals for new revenue.

Gov. Rick Snyder opposes the "racino" concept, despite understanding that the horse racing industry is struggling, said spokesman Dave Murray.

A bill from Rep. Robert Kosowski, D-Westland, would allow casinos to offer sports betting and take bets on simulcast horse races — something track executives oppose without receiving something from the casinos.

Carlo said he was skeptical of the latest proposals.

"At the end of the day, if we just change the law so that everybody's going to get a different percentage of the existing pot, I'm not interested in even being a part of it because that's a waste of time," he said. "Until we find a way to generate more revenue in the state of Michigan on horse racing, it's a futile attempt at saying we have a future. We have a future when we have more revenue coming in."


Horse Betting



www-crainsdetroit-com/article/20151108/NEWS/311089980/senate-bill-calls-for-horse-racing-purse-payout-changes

UK betting operators are in for a shock on Thursday as reports indicate the government will proceed with plans to grant the horseracing industry its long-coveted ‘betting right.’

On Wednesday, the Racing Post broke the news that Thursday will see the Tory government announce plans to replace the much-loathed Levy system with a new regime that requires both land-based and online bookmakers to transfer a certain cut of their UK race betting revenue back to the sport.

On Thursday morning, Tory MP Bob Blackman is expected to table a question for the minister for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the government’s promise to impose a permanent solution to the annual Levy system, which requires land-based bookies to kick back 10.75% of their UK race betting revenue to the sport.

The minister is expected to respond with a vow to introduce secondary legislation extending the mandatory kickback to all race wagers, be they placed in a betting shop or via an online betting site. The legislation reportedly anticipates this new system to be in place by April 2017.

The current Levy scheme generates around £100m to racing each year but the new betting right could boost this annual haul by £30m. Further details won’t likely be forthcoming until the government unveils its budget on March 16.

The plan would require majority votes in parliament and the House of Lords, as well as assurances from the European Union that the proposal doesn’t constitute illegal state aid. Bookies are expected to launch an EU challenge of the UK proposal but racing supporters believe precedent has already been set via a 2013 European Commission decision approving a similar plan in France.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will reportedly stick with its controversial Authorized Betting Partner (ABP) scheme until the new betting right is enacted. The ABP restricts racing sponsorships and other tie-ups to betting companies that have agreed to voluntarily contribute a slice of their online race betting revenue to the sport. To date, only four firms – 32Red, Bet365, Betfair and BetVictor – have been granted official ABP status.

Last month, the BHA took further steps to punish four ABP holdouts – Ladbrokes, Coral, William Hill and SkyBet – by denying them the right to advertise on subscription streaming service Racing UK. The channel’s owner, Racecourse Media Group, is reportedly also planning to deny streaming rights to these companies’ websites unless they get with the ABP program.

UK bookies can be excused if they feel a little persecuted of late. In the past year-and-a-half, they’ve witnessed the introduction of the new 15% online point-of-consumption tax, as well as the increase in land-based Machine Games Duty from 20% to 25%. The changes have wreaked havoc with operators’ bottom lines, with William Hill paying £87m in additional taxes in 2015.



UK Gov’t To Impose New Horserace Betting Right | Online Gambling News : CalvinAyre-com

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SANTA ANITA LEADERS

Final standings

JOCKEYS / WINS

Rafael Bejarano / 74

Flavien Prat / 51

Santiago Gonzalez / 47

Edwin Maldonado / 44

Tyler Baze / 37

TRAINERS / WINS

Philip D’Amato / 41

Doug O’Neill / 34

Jerry Hollendorfer / 26

Bob Baffert / 23

Peter Miller / 23

STAKES SCHEDULE

LOS ALAMITOS


Saturday

• $100,000 Grade III Los Angeles Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 5 1/2 furlongs

• $100,000 Bertrando Stakes, 3-year-olds and up bred in California, 1 mile

Exchange wagering will be available to New Jersey residents starting on May 10 through Betfair US and Darby Development, the operator of Monmouth Park (whose 2016 meet opens May 14). The two companies, who received licenses to operate exchange wagering from the New Jersey Racing Commission back in late November, announced the launch date Wednesday.

The current pari-mutuel betting in this country requires horse players to make their bets without knowing what their final odds will be, while exchange wagering makes it possible for bettors to take fixed odds that are locked in at the time of their transaction (similar to what sports bettors are used to) but also allows bettors to ask for better odds from those on the exchange or to match other players' offerings.

You can also bet against a horse and trading can also take place during the running of a race -- an option every horse player has desired while watching races develop. Gamblers also like that they only pay a commission of about 12 percent of winnings as opposed to traditional takeout rates of around 20 percent in pari-mutuel wagering.

Betfair, whose parent company is now Paddy Power Betfair after a February merger, pioneered the betting exchange in the United Kingdom in 2000 and now averages more than 3 million transactions worldwide each day.

"Our experience in the UK and other markets has proven that exchange wagering is an attractive prospect for consumers and that it can bring new customers, increased engagement and new revenue to horse racing," said Kip Levin, CEO of Betfair US, which started its foray into the U.S. market in 2009 with the purchase of the Television Games Network (TVG). "New Jersey is a great place for us to start and then take our data to other states."

For starters, only New Jersey residents will be allowed to participate (unlike the account wagering system in Nevada where visitors can set up accounts while they're visiting) and only on tracks with which agreements have been reached.

Monmouth Park is the biggest track involved so far but organizers Woodbine (Canada), Tampa Bay Downs, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will also be involved, with more to come. Customers will need to deposit into a wagering account (Betfair operates the 4NJBets wagering platform and the online Betfair Casino in partnership with the Golden Nugget) but then can bet from their PC, phone or tablet.

One of the concerns is that exchange wagering will cannibalize the money bet into win pools at the tracks. While proponents of exchange wagering don't deny that will happen, they say that will more than offset by the new money brought to the sport: this form of wagering is more popular with Wall Street-types and arbitragers and a younger/tech-savvy demographic that might not otherwise get involved in horse racing.

John Hindman, corporate counsel for Betfair, said Wednesday on a conference call: "We've found that while bettors are drawn to the features on our exchange, they also get attracted to the exotic wagering [exactas, trifectas, pick sixes, etc.] that are available on tote wagering that we don't offer. As a result, those pools will see an increase."

Horse racing has long faced the fact that its main demographic is getting older, while younger generations haven't embraced the sport.

Gethin Evans, head of marketing for Betfair US, said that the TVG network is an outlet they didn't have when starting exchange wagering in Britain. He said they'll use it to educate players that they have more control with exchange wagering and reduces the element of luck in not knowing what odds they're getting. He said it can also help make older players more comfortable with the new technology.




Chalk - Betfair to launch horse racing exchange wagering in New Jersey

BetFair does not accept US players.

BetFair does not accept US players.


Betfair.com does not currently accept US players.