JC / Railbird

NYRA-MidAtlantic Archive

When Will It End?

The NYRA-MidAtlantic Cooperative dispute drags on. When might it end? “Neither side was willing to predict an end to the stalemate, though they made clear it could go for the long haul.” (Blood-Horse)

Posted in NYRA-MidAtlantic on October 10, 2004

Angry Fans at Rockingham

Fans who didn’t know about the NYRA-MidAtlantic Cooperative kerfuffle were upset Wednesday at Rockingham Park when they learned there would be no Belmont simulcast. “I’m very angry,” Bob Bucci of Stoneham told Paul Daley. “I didn’t know anything about this until I got here. I feel I’ve been left out of the loop. New York and California comprise about 80 percent of my betting action. I feel like I’ve just wasted $10 on programs and other stuff that is useless to me now.” (Lowell Sun)

Posted in NYRA-MidAtlantic on September 24, 2004

NE Racing Fans Shut Out

“Picture this. You’re a New England thoroughbred racing fan, fresh off the high of another exciting Saratoga summer. You can’t wait for the Oct. 30th Breeders’ Cup from Lone Star Park and hope to sharpen your handicapping by watching and wagering on Belmont Park’s spectacular fall meeting, which includes several premier stakes races.” Wait, you can’t — at least, not at Suffolk Downs or Rockingham Park, owing to the dispute between NYRA and the MidAtlantic Coop. Yet again, writes Paul Daley, fans are paying the price for an industry squabble. (Lowell Sun)
More: “When there’s a squabble among members of the horse racing industry, they have a funny way of settling it. They take a baseball bat and hit you, the horse player, over the head with it.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Posted in NYRA-MidAtlantic on September 17, 2004

NYRA Pulls Signal

Effective September 15, Belmont simulcasts won’t be transmitted to the 19 MidAtlantic Cooperative members, including Laurel, Monmouth, and Philadelphia Park. Suffolk Downs will stop receiving the signal on September 19. At issue is account wagering rights. “Martin Lieberman, executive director of the cooperative, said NYRA restricted its signal in a change from previous contracts. He said NYRA insisted it would allow limited account wagering in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but had conveyed the rights in other states to the TV Games Network in a deal announced in early September.” (Blood-Horse)
More: “Tracks to cut Belmont signal” (Daily Racing Form)

Posted in NYRA-MidAtlantic on September 14, 2004