California Takeout Increase Discussion

Issue: On July 22nd, the CHRB met with one of the agenda items being a discussion on the effectiveness of the Los Alamitos takeout increase.

Response: HANA President, Jeff Platt, along with Barry Meadow was there to make sure that the truth was presented. The transcript is below with certain portions bolded for additional emphasis. To summarize, the CHRB decided to ignore Jeff's factual presentation of the drop in handle, and instead of just choosing to look at the numbers again at the next meeting, decided to extend the increase through the end of the year with an eye on extending it, "for a considerably more permanent period of time".

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Approved. Thank you. Stay there, Bon.
Item number 15, discussion and action by the Board regarding a report from the Los Alamitos Racing Association regarding the impact of the two percent increase in the take-out and conventional and exotic wagers on races conducted by the racing association has had on handle, and if the take-out increase should continue until September the 8th, 2010 as approved by the Board.
Because we did this for six months; right?

MR. BREED: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay.

MR. SMITH: The -- the original approved extension of the increase was through the end of the Del Mar meet.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay.

MR. SMITH: And if I could add, Mr. Chairman -- this is, again, Bon Smith, assistant executive director.
In the staff analysis for this item the comment was made that to counteract the take-out increase that the better suggested would erode interest in wagering, I -- the -- the conclusion suggested that it was a response --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: I think it was inartful language. I -- I got Mr. English’s email and I agreed with it.
I don’t think the intent was -- I trust you two have had a conversation. I --

MR. ENGLISH: No, we haven’t.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay. I don’t think the intent was there. These are very difficult things to try to get into a paragraph. And at the time I read it --

MR. SMITH: It -- it was --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- it --

MR. SMITH: It was entirely coincident that the reduction in days occurred --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Right.

MR. SMITH: -- simultaneous. I just wanted to --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Right.

MR. SMITH: -- make sure that that was clear

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah. No. I thought that was inartful language, and I thought your point was well taken, Mr. English.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Thank you, sir.
Well, the floor is yours, sir.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you. The last time this was brought up was at the April meeting, if you’d like an update. And that’s what I’d like to do at this time.
At the April meeting I --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Please identify yourself --

MR. ENGLISH: Oh. Richard English --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- for the court reporter.

MR. ENGLISH: -- Los Alamitos Race Track.
At the April meeting there were -- a couple issues came up. One was there is a lack of common data. There was disputes about what the handle was, the actual handle was between myself, some gambling representatives, Jeff Pratt and Barry Abrams, and also the race board. We specially had a meeting at Los Alamitos and sat down. I sat down with
mister -- with Jeff beforehand. We reconciled the handle numbers. We came up with a common -- common record for reporting the handle. We -- at the time we identified my numbers, we identified Jeff’s numbers and reconciled the two. We were never able to identify where the Horse Racing Board’s numbers came from or staff’s numbers came from. Okay.
Subsequent to then I’ve updated the -- the report, and it’s included in the current package. As -- as you see what’s included in the package, the handle didn’t go up right after we went to three days. And during the course of the meet it stayed up, and we’ve generated more purses than handle. But if you watch week by week the handle fluctuates, not with
the -- not directly with the take-out. It directly -- it relates directly with the field size. You look week through week you can see what happens when our fields go up and go down.
Commissioner Rosenberg said a question one time,
how -- at one time we’ve increased our purses, and the question was: How can we afford to do that after we cut back? And that’s one of these things that shows up in this presentation I made. I’d like to show you, just recap it briefly. It shows the week, the number of races per day. It comes up with the average starters per day. And we now show the handle for that per race, our regular handle and the ADW handle per race for that week, and what was generated in purses and what was generated in handle. And so you go through,
you -- you track week by week.
As you can see, as the field’s going -- went to three days a week our field -- our field size direct -- increased -- increased, and so did the handle directly. The increase in take-out did not have an adverse effect at that point and time and still does not. As the meet’s worn on you look currently and, unfortunately, our field size has decreased again. We’re having the same problems everybody else is. Our field size, we’ve gone up to 30 races. We’ve dropped back down to about 6.9 horses per race.
But what I’d like to point out is our handle per race this last couple of weeks is just about what it was the beginning of the year. The beginning of the year it was about $118,000 a race. Now it’s back to about $120,000 a race. What has happened is that because of the take-out we’re generating
$700 a month more -- $700 per race more in purses and commissions. It doesn’t seem like a lot. But in the horse racing industry, 30 races a week, that’s $21,000 a week, 50 race -- 50 weeks a year, that’s $1 million in purses. It makes a huge difference.
I agree with the handicappers that our total -- that our gross numbers are down from last year. We’ve had fewer days, fewer races. That’s a function of the number of horses available to us. This increase in take-out is vital to us continuing in our -- in our operations.
Like I said the handles are down. We can no longer afford to race four days a week or to have that purse stretched. We’re overpaying purses by over $1 million, and nobody can go on that -- in that method. This is a way to -- to help to be able to cover our costs.
I brought one -- two more exhibits to share with you at the course of the meeting. These were generated from CRIMS (phonetic), directly from ADW handles. This covers the period from January 21st, the date of our rate increase, through July 15th. During that period of time on ADW wagering California -- California wagers a bet -- I’m sorry.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: With respect, we’re not going to be able to evaluate a 14 --

MR. ENGLISH: No. But I want --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- page spreadsheet --

MR. ENGLISH: No.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- as we sit here.

MR. ENGLISH: I -- I --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Just give me the summary of what it is you’re --

MR. ENGLISH: The summary is the average take-out bet among all tracks by California wagers, the average win take -- take-out is 16.62 percent, right in line with ours. And the -- and the exotic take-out is 22.2 -- 22.0 percent.
In terms of ranking Los Alamitos among all the California wagers bet on 250 tracks our take-out is 160th. We’re nowhere near the top of the field. But my -- our take-out rate is competitive. It’s something our aspect of the market needs. And I’d like to ask you to -- to not only continue with that, but continue it for the rest -- the balance of the year.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: So what you’ve been able to determine so far, the most important factor in determining handle and interest is the quality of the product, not the price of the product?

MR. ENGLISH: Absolutely.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Okay.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: And -- and we define quality of the product to this case is field size?

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Right.

MR. ENGLISH: Yes. That’s correct. Perhaps more interesting, because it’s just like people pay extra money to see something in 3D --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Right.

MR. ENGLISH: -- as opposed to regular theater.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Right.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: So -- so quality is a much more important determining factor than pricing?

MR. ENGLISH: Correct.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Okay.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay.

MR. ENGLISH: Correct.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Mr. Platt, who has brought his coffee to the table thinking he’s going to be here for some period of time, evidently. I’ve never seen anyone bring their coffee to the table before.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: That, and his computer.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: But -- well, I hope you’re not watching a DVD in there or something. But anyway, please, sir, go ahead.

MR. PLATT: All right. Jeff Platt representing HANA.
I prepared a spreadsheet that’s very simple in nature. On one side it shows --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Did you submit it to us?

MR. PLATT: I did submit it to you. It is part of the (meeting) package.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Oh, it’s in the package. It’s not a separate one?

MR. PLATT: No.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: No. Okay.

MR. PLATT: And I just want to summarize what --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Great.

MR. PLATT: -- what the spreadsheet is - On one side it is handle for 2009. On the other side is handle for 2010. The time period covered is from the start of the experiment through the end of June 2010.
During the time period of the experiment on-track handle went down 27 percent. I think it’s vitally important before you make your decision that you are acutely aware of the need to look at handle on a per calendar basis rather than just a per race basis. The people behind me have to pay their bills on a per calendar basis, not on a per race basis.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Well, I think that falls into the category of I wish we weren’t where we are, but we are where we are.

MR. PLATT: The second point that I would like to make is when I analyze the structure of the handle, where it was good, where it was bad, brick and mortar handle was impacted the most by the price increase. ADW handle appears to have held firm from last year to this year. There is a reason for that. And there’s evidence of price elasticity in the ADW numbers. When Dr. Allred did the new signal contract after the take-out increase he went to the rebate houses and he told them, “We have a two percent take-out increase. But I’m only going to up your signal fee one percent to mitigate the effect of the price increase.” And I think the mitigation of that is being reflected in the ADW portion of the handle.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: That’s certainly one theory. I mean, the other theory is that brick and mortar facilities are continuing their natural decline as people have alternate methods of -- of being to -- to make a bet.

MR. PLATT: When I talk to other large players they have told me without question that the rebate houses where they play passed that one percent onto them. Their rates for playing the Los Al signal actually went up. They were incentivized to play the Los Al signal. I think that’s an important point, and I think it is reflected in the ADW handle numbers.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Right. Right.

MR. PLATT: In closing, I’m asking you on behalf of the public to sunset this.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay. I think you’re asking me on behalf of you and perhaps HANA. I don’t actually think
you speak for the public. But I understand the point that you’re -- that you’re making.

MR. PLATT: Well, we have over 1,600 members.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: That’s what I said --

MR. PLATT: So that’s not --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- it’s on behalf of HANA.

MR. PLATT: -- (not) necessarily --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: I think the -- the public was a little great.

MR. PLATT: Well, all right.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: That’s what I was saying. Yeah.

MR. PLATT: Okay.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Do I have -- do I have questions from any other commissioners on this?

COMMISSIONER HARRIS: I wasn’t clear on the increase in take-out, if Los Alamitos was able to pass that on to their out-of-state people in ADWs or not.

MR. ENGLISH: That -- that was a significant obstacle. It was a challenge to us. And we did is we shared the increase of out-of-state locations. They kept one percent and we got one -- we kept -- one percent came to us.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: I see.

MR. ENGLISH: And that’s the arrangement with the ADW companies.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Well, I think we -- actually, I think this has been a very useful exercise. And I -- I really commend you who had to do this, because we required of you doing it, and Jeff for the work he’s done in -- in putting in this. And I think that -- that you make an interesting point about, you know, calendar days are important for something else, and I think it’s a bit of an apple/orange argument because I think you make a good justification for a different reason. We’d all like to be running more, but horse inventory tells us when we can and how much we can -- we can run. And I think on a per race meeting it’s -- it’s very, very close and I think has -- has been very interesting.
So I, for one, would be happy to support a motion that allowed this to continue through the end of this calendar year, which is what you’ve asked for; correct?

MR. ENGLISH: Well, I’d like it to be permanent.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Well, I understand.

MR. ENGLISH: I’m not sure what’s on the docket today.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: But -- but I would like --

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: I’d like to be playing in the NBA, so --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah.

MR. ENGLISH: I’d like to, too.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: And you have a greater chance of me making this permanent than that.
Anyway, but -- but, no, I think we should carry this on through -- through -- through the end of -- of this year and just continue to monitor. I think that gives Jeff and his people a fair chance to continue to -- to do it. I’ve really been pleased with the way you’ve all worked together to come to this -- to this detail.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: And -- and then perhaps at that stage we’ll -- we’ll have it on as a consideration for -- I don’t know about permanent, but certainly for -- for a considerably more permanent period of time.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you. And I would like to say there’s a partial byproduct to this. One of them is this new handle report that is going to be available on the internet where everybody will have the same data, be able to at least analyze it.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Right.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah.

MR. ENGLISH: And we have different analyses. Some are players. Some are trip handicappers.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah.

MR. ENGLISH: But you all --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah.

MR. ENGLISH: -- you’ll have the same document.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Well, I wouldn’t thank me or pick up your papers yet, because all I’m doing is making a motion that’s going to be voted on by everybody. So --

MR. ENGLISH: Okay. So -- so --

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: I second the motion.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: So that will be the motion. Commissioner Rosenberg -- oh, I’m sorry. You’re right. I do have -- I do have one speaker on this. I apologize. Barry Meadow, I apologize, sir.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: Mr. Commissioner, by the way, just while the gentleman is walking up, the pack -- the materials that you refer to as being in the package, we only had a one page attachment, which I don’t think --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: No.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: -- made all that --

MR. BREED: No. No. No.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Look under the spreadsheet behind that.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: It’s the next one?

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yes. No. It’s not the next one. You’re -- You may have an incorrect Board package.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: They are?

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: But I have all the -- we all have the details.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: We have them? Okay.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: That’s just starting there.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Red.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Yeah. The red is Los Al and the yellow is handle.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: Okay.

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: Okay. Is it all? Okay.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: So --

COMMISSIONER ROSENBERG: I didn’t picture that.

MR. MEADOW: All right. And imagine a two person golf tournament, me versus Tiger Woods. Tiger shoots a 65, I shoot 165. You could say Tiger beat me by 100 shots. You also could say I finished second to the great Tiger Woods.
The argument is not about what the -- what the numbers are. The whole question is how these are interpreted. Obviously, as a horse player I have a completely different take on what Rick English might -- might say.
Let’s say I have a play. I’m a producer. I have 40 people come to my play on Friday, 60 on Saturday. I charge them ten bucks a piece. I take in $1,000 a week. I decide, you know, Friday is not doing that well. I’m only going to do Saturday. But now I’m going to offer free cookies, I’m going to offer --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: You know, I’m only going to permit you two analogies per -- per -- per comment.

MR. MEADOW: Okay. This is --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: I mean, it’s --

MR. MEADOW: My --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: I can’t keep up with them all.

MR. MEADOW: My final analogy --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: So what is the -- what -- what -- what is the -- what is the point?

MR. MEADOW: I might bring in a higher amount of people on a particular day, but overall I’m giving a better product, but totally I’m bringing in less money. This is the problem with the take-out.
Take-out means the churn gets reduced because -- because people don’t have enough money. Whether they understand what the take-out is or not they have less money in their pockets. That’s true whether you’re a big player or a small player. That effect compounds over a period of -- of -- of time.
I don’t see how you can raise prices under these economic conditions. I don’t see how you do it. And I don’t see where the -- where comparing a race that has ten horses this year with a race that had eight horses last year is going to tell us much of anything, other than the fact that the product is better. If the product is better you’re going to get more money. Yeah, you raise the prices, but you’ve got -- you’ve got a better product.
I think it’s important that we do not raise prices under these conditions. And if anything we should be cutting the take-out, not raising the take-out.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Thank you very much. So I have a -- I have a motion that I made to approve this issue through December 31st, at which stage we’ll have another report at the -- at -- at one of the year end meetings, November or December. And I have a second by Commissioner Rosenberg. All in favor?

ALL COMMISSIONERS: Aye.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Motion approved. Thank you.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you.

COMMISSIONER CHOPER: I would just urge you to keep these statistics.

MR. ENGLISH: Yeah.

COMMISSIONER CHOPER: Because one of the problems is statistics are very difficult to compare and they’re always --

MR. ENGLISH: That’s right --

COMMISSIONER CHOPER: But they -- the -- the comparable dates and how many things you were doing then, how many things you’re doing now are very difficult to try to figure out. But by December I don’t know that you’ll have anything better.

MR. ENGLISH: Well, but it’s --

COMMISSIONER CHOPER: But you still may be comparing apples and oranges. But as long as you -- it would be very helpful along the way to see it. And that -- and that’s really the reason that I think we’ve got to hang with this. You’re -- you’re -- nothing wrong with your logic. But that --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: No. The reason that we’re going to December is to be fair to Jeff and his people --

COMMISSIONER DEREK: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: -- who are putting all this time and effort into -- into -- into helping monitor this.

COMMISSIONER CHOPER: But it’s very difficult figuring it out.

MR. ENGLISH: Thank you all --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Thank you.

MR. ENGLISH: -- for that.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Thank you. Thank you. Maybe the coffee will go back with you, Jeff.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: You must have a great battery in that thing.

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Okay.

VICE CHAIRPERSON ISRAEL: He was running that off a battery all --

CHAIRPERSON BRACKPOOL: Item number 16, this was an item requested by Commissioner Harris at the last Board meeting...

HANA Report: Gulfstream surface change in last race of the day.

Issue: On Saturday February 27, Gulfstream Park changed the last race on the card from turf to dirt after the multi-leg wagers had been submitted. Horseplayers did not have a chance to change their bets after this change.

Response: HANA sent the following email to the attention of Gulfstream Park detailing our issues with the situation.

Sir/Madam,

On Saturday February 27, at Gulfstream Park the last race was changed from turf to dirt after multi-leg wagers were made. As you know, the jockey's refused to ride the last race on the turf. We certainly respect their decision as horseplayers, because their safety, and the safety of the horses is of paramount importance to everyone. However, we consider the way that multi-leg wagers were handled troubling.

The Horseplayers Association of North America, an advocacy group which represents close to 1,500 horseplayers, asks that changes be made immediately regarding late surface changes.

Turf and dirt are completely different, and most horseplayers handicap them differently. If a race is taken off the turf, a completely different set of mechanics are used by horseplayers to make their selections. Without a doubt, multi-leg bets on races, where the surface was changed prior to the start of betting of that multi leg wager, need to result in an 'all' for the specific race(s) of the changed surface race(s).

HANA urges all jurisdictions which do not current have an equitable remedy in place, to implement such a rule change in as expedient a manner as possible to ensure that horseplayers are treated fairly in future situations. HANA would like to see a standardization of such rules across all racing jurisdictions.

HANA recommends the adoption of a policy changing the outcome to "ALL" for races for that leg in a multi-race wagers which have an announced surface change after the first race of the sequence has commenced.

We would be more than happy to discuss this with you, or any jurisdiction, at your earliest convenience. Working together, we believe we can fix problems like this and help make horse racing a better sport to watch, play and enjoy.

Respectfully yours,

The Horseplayers Association of North America

This isn't a new situation, and it has been brought to the attention of the state of Florida before. HANA is following up on the letter that was sent and will update this post with any changes.

HANA Report: The benefit of the Equibase Scratches and Changes Page

Issue:It is great that Equibase has implemented and improved their system for scratches and changes, weather updates, and track conditions, but how does that help me?

Member Feedback:Several HANA members have written to ask what the Equibase Scratches and Changes page offers them that they didn't have before. They've suggested that HANA should be working for a majority of members and not spending time on something like this that just helps a few players. Most players already use an ADW that provides the scratches and changes for them, so they don't see any benefit to this new system.

Our goal was to create a single place on the web where not only players but everyone in the industry could go to get timely and accurate scratches and changes information. Despite being notified of inaccuracies in their scratches and changes for years, the industry as a whole has failed to update their system to provide accurate, timely data.

Equibase listened to this issue and made the solution a reality. Not only that, but they created the system in such a way that the architecture allows for companies such as ADW's, racetracks, and everyone else that might be interested to use it for free.

The Equibase page offers a single source for all scratches and changes, and we believe it should be the source used throughout the industry. Scratches and changes have a huge impact on races, and it is imperative that everyone be working with the same set of accurate information.

HANA Report: Mid-Atlantic Coop Signal Availability

Issue:  CDI/Tracknet is not making the Mid-Atlantic Coop tracks available on their ADW's.  

Member Feedback: Mike 412 via Paceadvantage.com

Hana President Jeff Platt contacted both CDI/Tracknet & the Mid-Atlantic Coop.  He asked the following questions:

1. Are you seeking a percentage increase? 
2. Is the other side seeking a percentage increase? 
3. Are issues other than percentages/price involved? If so, what are they? 
4. Is there a date/timeframe by which the dispute is expected to be resolved?

As of today, November 25, 2009, CDI/Tracknet hasn't responded.  We have been able to learn the following however:   

Nature of Dispute?
Money - TrackNet is the side seeking a price increase - estimated to be between 15-20 percent over present costs.

Other Issues?
TrackNet is also insisting on something called a "Local Dispute" clause, which would essentially enable TrackNet to discontinue providing simulcasts to one or more of Mid Atlantic tracks if there is a local law or regulation in that Member track's jurisdiction that materially impacts TrackNet including their ADWs XpressBet or Twin Spires.

(Translation of that last one? If such language were added to the contract TrackNet would be within their rights to pull track signals from Mid Atlantic Tracks if a source market fee were or went into existence.)

UPDATE as of 12/03/2009: Per Jeff Platt, HANA President posted on PaceAdvantage.com

Scott Daruty of Tracknet called me today. We discussed the current signal impasse at length.

Tracknet verified that they are seeking a price increase in the range of 15% to 20% at this time.

Tracknet also verified that they are seeking introduction of language into the new signal contract that would protect them in the event another Mid Atlantic Track or their horsemen successfully lobbied a state governement to make source market fee part of state law (as has already happened in VA) while the signal contract between the Mid Atlantic Coop and Tracknet is in place.

Tracknet's position is that the current model for revenue sharing between tracks is broken, does not compensate the host track adequately, and needs to change.

Paraphrasing from the conversation, under the current revenue sharing model, if takeout is 20%, approximately 3% of every dollar wagered goes to the host track and 17% remains with the guest track.

Put another way... 15% of revenue to be distributed (revenue to be distributed=takeout) goes to the track that "puts on the show" while 85% stays with the outlet accepting the wager.

Tracknet is seeking to bump their current share up by 15% to 20% so that their new share would become 17% to 18%.

Tracknet also pointed out that even though things may be at an impasse... they are still showing races from Mid Atlantic Coop Tracks at Tracknet locations and accepting wagers on those races at Tracknet locations.

Now you know what I know

-jp

UPDATE as of 1/23/2010: Press Release posted on The Paulick Report
No details are available, but the TrackNet content is now available

HANA Report: NYRA Video

Issue: NYRA video is not available to all ADW users.

Member Feedback: Several New Jersey members have contacted us to get them some facts on the situation they find themselves in - namely, if they play on NJbets, they can not see a live NYRA signal. See thread on paceadvantage.com

HANA President Jeff Platt wrote the folks at NYRA and these are the facts as he got them:

- NYRA races are shown live at each of the operating NJ tracks, at the AC Casinos and in each of the three OTW facilities operating in Woodbridge, TomsRiver and Vineland. The limitations are strictly on NJ’s ADW platform (NJBets) and that platforms availability to stream NYRA content live.

- Due to various 'laws' NYRA can not show live video streaming in NY for its own resident ADW account holders. Neither can the various national ADW operators with NY residents accounts show video streaming of NYRA races to NY resident account holders.

- NJSEA has a license to show fast official replays of NYRA product on the NJBets platform, but does not have one to show live video. Rights fees have to be paid to show live video for out-of-New-York-state customers.

- It appears there are three ways to go on this.
1) NJ can pay a rights fee and show live video.
2) Allow their members to use the fast replay option, that they have rights to, and show no live video.
3) Wait until 2010 when some new type of contract can be looked at.

This looks to us to be another racing juggernaut, where customers throw their hands in the air, not caring who is right or wrong, just lamenting that it is so very difficult to be a racing customer in this day and age. We will keep you posted should we hear anything new.

HANA Report: TSN Datafiles

Issue: CDI's shutdown of Procaps datafiles for online horseplayers

Member Feedback: Andrew Rookley via Paceadvantage.com

HANA President Jeff Platt contacted Happy Broadbent of Brisnet.com and his response is below.
Quote:
"As I said on the phone, we are here to take care of your customers and to be sure that the transition is smooth for them. We have set up a specific email address to answer any customer questions:
tsninfo @ brisnet . com
(remove the blank spaces first)
Or they can contact us by calling:
8 0 0 - 3 5 4 - 9 2 0 6
option 5."

If you are a current TSN Advantage Plan subscriber as of 10/01/2009 you will have the option of continuing your data subscription at the same price with Brisnet.com. You will have access to an equivalent Brisnet data file.

Brisnet.com will be doing everything within reason to ensure that this transition for TSN Advantage Plan subscribers goes as smoothly as possible.

My impressions from the overall tone of the call were positive. I believe that Brisnet really does want to make the transition for TSN Advantage Plan subscribers go as smoothly as possible:

Here's a brief write up of what was discussed on the call:

* TSN will be absorbed by Brisnet on 11/17/2009

* Current TSN Advantage Plan subscribers will be "grandfathered in" and have the option to extend their data subscriptions through the end of 2010. Grandfathered in means the same monthly fee and access to an equivalent data file.

* Non TSN subscribers will not be grandfathered in and new TSN Advantage Plan data subscriptions became no longer available as of 10/01/2009.

* Grandfathered in TSN .PCS file subscribers will be given access to Brisnet MultiCaps .MCP files at the same monthly data subscription fee currently being paid to TSN.

* Brisnet's immediate goal is simple: Current TSN data subscribers will enjoy a seamless transition to the new Brisnet equivalent data file type without an increase in price.

* Yet to be determined at this time is what happens at the end of 2010.