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Sam Houston Postpones Interstate Simulcast Wagering

Despite previously announcing that interstate simulcast wagering would resume Friday, Feb. 3, Sam Houston released a statement Friday morning postponing it.

“We have determined that more time is needed to fully evaluate the many legal complexities surrounding recent court decisions and the HISA amendment enacted by Congress at the end of last year,” the statement read. “While we are eager to export our signal across the country, our commitment to maintaining federal and state compliance remains our top priority. We will export our signal across state lines when we are confident that it can be done in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Until then, we will only broadcast our signal throughout Texas and to approved international locations but will not simulcast to any other locations in the United States.”

The statement can be read in full at https://www.shrp.com/.

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Simulcast Fee Dispute: Churchill Withdraws Complaint Against Thoroughbred Owners Of California

On Feb. 2, 2021, Churchill Downs Technology Initiatives Company (CDTIC), a subsidiary of Churchill Downs, Inc. that operates advance deposit wagering companies TwinSpires and BetAmerica, filed a lawsuit against the Thoroughbred Owners of California for invoking state statute in an effort to bring a dispute over simulcast hub fees into binding arbitration.

According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, that lawsuit has been dropped. A “notice of voluntary dismissal” was filed Monday in the United States District Court (Central District, California, Western Division), which indicated that the parties reached an agreement on March 5.

The notice did not indicate specifics about that agreement, and neither TOC's Greg Avioli nor Scott Edelman, the CDTIC's attorney, responded to queries from the TDN.

The dispute centered around a hub agreement reached on Dec. 22, 2020, between Santa Anita Park and CDI's two online wagering companies, TwinSpires and BetAmerica. The agreement specified the percentage the ADW companies would receive on each dollar wagered by California residents using their platforms. By California statute, the maximum an ADW company may receive to facilitate a wager is 6.5%. The agreed-upon percentage in the agreement between the ADW companies and Santa Anita is redacted in the court filings. According to the lawsuit, TOC asked that the hub fee be reduced to 4.1%, which the complaint said “would cost Churchill Downs Technology millions of dollars and upset almost a decade of an established course of dealing between the contracting parties.”

Two months earlier, on Oct. 28, the suit alleged, TOC president and CEO Greg Avioli asked Churchill Downs Inc. executive Mike Ziegler to “voluntarily return the equivalent of 1% of the total” wagered on the company's ADW platforms in 2020. “TOC threatened that if Churchill Downs Technology did not comply with its 'voluntary' request, it would demand arbitration pursuant to section 19604,” the complaint alleges, calling the effort a to retain additional revenue a “shakedown.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Simulcast Fee Dispute: Churchill Withdraws Complaint Against Thoroughbred Owners Of California appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fonner Files: The Satellite And Simulcast View Of Fonner Park

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.

The view of Fonner Park from a satellite is quite impressive as an ever-evolving, 240-acre campus of arenas, livestock and expo buildings, restaurants, home of the Nebraska State Fair and Hall County Fair, our racing facility and a casino in the plans.

Who knew? It turns out the current simulcast view of Fon is quite popular too. A peek into the last three years is worth a look.

In 2020, when all the world began watching “the little track that could,” we had four $6-million Saturdays in handle. A year before in 2019, average out-of-state handle on a Saturday was $125,000.

However, last Saturday, out-of-state handle was $634,580. That number is a tenth of some of the wildest days in our 68-year history, but it nearly quadrupled what was previously the norm.

We obviously aren't as necessary now as we were in the depths of a global pandemic. But, the point is, in 2021, bettors are back and watching – and wagering on Fon. Thank you!

The post Fonner Files: The Satellite And Simulcast View Of Fonner Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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HBPA, Simulcast Revenue Fuel Purse Increases At Tampa Bay Downs

Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla. will increase purses for all races except stakes by approximately 10-percent beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 16, track Vice President-General Manager Peter Berube announced Wednesday.

The increase will be $1,500 for maiden special weight and allowance races and $1,000 for claiming and starter races.

“Thanks to the efforts of former (Tampa Bay Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association) President Bob Jeffries and the approval of their board, we were able to build a substantial cushion in the purse account before the current meeting,” Berube said.

“Our export (simulcast) business has been strong since racing returned on Nov. 25 and is up 29 percent to date,” Berube said.

“We were projecting a 30-35-percent decrease in on-track wagering on live and simulcast racing to start the meeting and those projections have been correct, but the actions of the Tampa Bay HBPA and the popularity of our signal across the country enable us to feel comfortable raising purses starting next week,” Berube said.

Through the first six cards since the 2020-2021 meeting resumed, Tampa Bay Downs has averaged $3,719,055 in daily interstate wagering. The total wagering handle on Saturday's 10-race card was a Cotillion Festival Day record $6,128,282, of which $5,702,369 was through interstate wagering.

Around the oval: Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with Sundays added to the mix on Dec. 20. Additionally, the track will conduct a Thursday card on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25.

Otherwise, Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.

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