The largest pool operators in the US have developed software that will allow off-track bets (bets made at any simulcast locations outside the host track) to be transferred directly to the host pool. Today, bets are often kept at the off-track location and only transferred to the host pool after the race has started. This has lead to the anomaly of late odds changes resulting from large amounts of uncounted, off-track bets flown only into the pools after the race has started.

The race pool organisations and other race bodies that have developed and now own the software are: Churchill Downs Incorporated; Magna Entertainment Corp.; New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority; New York Racing Association; National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Inc.; The Jockey Club; Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America, Inc. and Woodbine Entertainment Group.

The software has been named Wagering Transmission Protocol™ (“WTP”) Version 1.0. It will be licensed for non-exclusive use at no charge in perpetuity for all companies participating in legal pari-mutuel wagering. The ownership group, as well as all North American-based totalizator companies, collaborated on the creation and documentation of WTP. Other racing industry organizations that will be involved in the continued development and implementation of WTP are North American racing commissions, primarily through the Association of Racing Commissioners International; Harness Tracks of America; and the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (“TRPB”).

The group also is inviting commentary from interested parties that would improve and enhance the protocol. The protocol can be found at: http://www.tra-online.com/WTP10.pdf. Comments should be submitted in electronic text with supporting documentation to wagering@TRPB.com no later than September 30, 2006.