News

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Horsemen-track dispute effects US handle

US handle is decreasing due to an ongoing dispute between Kentucky horsemen (owners, breeders, jockeys) and the main racetrack organizations Churchill Downs and Magna (represented under TrackNet).

According to US regulations, horsemen can block the sale of track signal to advance deposit wagering (ADW) companies. As horsemen are unsatisfied with their share of revenue from ADW income, they decided to block the signal. Currently, only the large domestic ADW companies are effected, signal to offshore companies may be stopped in the future.

The level of payment by ADW’s to horsemen ranges from 3% to 8,5%. In addition to ADW revenues, horsemen in some states are also eying a share of the income from track based slot machines.