what's up with xpressbet?

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:19 am

i login today, wanting to make a wager in the first at churchill, and they are not taking bets on churchill downs. odd. very odd. Now after the 2nd race, they just said screw belmont! by the end of the day we are going to be down to penn national

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Wed May 21, 2008 1:41 pm

Churchill is still being blocked by the horsemen from accepting online wagering. The horsemen wanted the purses increased to reflect the additional revenues Churchill was getting. In response to the horsemen refusing to sign off on the online wagering, Churchill did its usual "pissing contest punishment" and reduced purses. The saga continues.

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Wed May 21, 2008 1:54 pm

well screw me. I had a good juicy pick in the 8th tomorrow at churchill. oh well. guess it's a day off

imnumberjuan · Postby **imnumberjuan** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:42 pm

Madelyn... argh....

Discovery · Postby **Discovery** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:08 am

it's not letting you place a bet at belmont? Seems to be working for me

Discovery · Postby **Discovery** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:09 am

nevermind, just noticed this was from yesterday

imnumberjuan · Postby **imnumberjuan** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:20 am

I see I can still bet Churchill downs on my canadian HPIBET.com

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:44 am

It may have been resolved. I think it is like a pope election and if you're not close enough to see the smoke you will never know it happened.

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Thu May 22, 2008 3:49 pm

okay now i'm freaking hot, becuase the horse I was going to bet won and paid 11.40. :evil:

DAMN YOU WHOEVER IS CAUSING THIS!!! WHY COULDN'T YOU BLOCK A TRACK I DON'T HANDICAPP EVERYDAY!!! BLOCK CALDER OR EVEN BETTER BLOCK PENN NATIONAL!

geowarrior · Postby **geowarrior** » Thu May 22, 2008 6:45 pm

bdw your wish was granted at least for a while. Calder was blocked. However I'm not close enough to see the smoke (I like that one, by the way, Madelyn) so I don't know if that one's been resolved.

Bedouwia · Postby **Bedouwia** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:23 am

The lack of real news on this issue is frustrating. Lone Star is also blocked, and has reduced purses, cut stakes races for fillies, etc. It is not like Texas racing is in such great shape that we can take another hit. The biggest frustration for me is not even being able to watch the races on my TV.

I agree that the tracks and purses need more revenue from these betting sites, since they are probably the wave of the future. However, our associations might inform us of the progress in negotiating, if indeed there is any. I read that Lousisiana got an agreement. Does anyone know what it was? Anybody else close?

Bedouwia

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Sun May 25, 2008 5:58 am

Bedouwia wrote:The lack of real news on this issue is frustrating. Lone Star is also blocked, and has reduced purses, cut stakes races for fillies, etc. It is not like Texas racing is in such great shape that we can take another hit. The biggest frustration for me is not even being able to watch the races on my TV.

I agree that the tracks and purses need more revenue from these betting sites, since they are probably the wave of the future. However, our associations might inform us of the progress in negotiating, if indeed there is any. I read that Lousisiana got an agreement. Does anyone know what it was? Anybody else close?

Bedouwia

If you want to make that arguement or talk about that, I am not one that thinks they need to hike the amount they have to send the tracks.

Note there was not one ADW that turned a profit last year. notta one. Not xpressbet, not TVG, not youbet, no twinspires, nada. but yet the tracks want more money.

they want more money for the simple reason that they think they can get it.

although I am new to horse racing, i have a pretty solid business background and it's of my personal opinion that the industry would be best served to let the natural progression of attration (I think that's the word I'm looking for) go ahead and happen.

what i mean by that is that we have a pie, that if anything is gettings SMALLER, yet we are actually opening up MORE tracks, and tracks who have no real niche, and who can't survive without help from outsiders, are crying for help to stay in business. Let them go. it will make the game better. yes people will lose jobs, but in the long run it's the best thing that can happen for horse racing. Get rid of the tracks who do nothing but spyhon business off of other tracks, who have bad business models, who are in it for the slots and handouts..

youbet lost so much money that they were 2 months away from getting kicked off the trading board!

America should not have more than 20ish tracks. and that's pushing it. WAY too many. And what will happen when someone gives in and gives more. it will never be enough, because they are asking because it's there to be asked for. Now in NJ that they have slots, they are now asking for sports gambling.

I can wait and just bet on Belmont, Hollywood, Pimlico and Arlington. I'll be fine. let

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Sun May 25, 2008 6:35 am

bdw, I think you have misunderstood the issue. The horsemen want the increased revenue that the track already RECEIVES reflected in larger purses. No one is trying to step on xpressbet, etc. It's between the horsemen and the tracks.

Perhaps the lack of coverage has more to do with egos.. might be tough for a track to admit the horsemen can get it by the short hairs..

bdw0617 · Postby **bdw0617** » Sun May 25, 2008 6:43 am

madelyn wrote:bdw, I think you have misunderstood the issue. The horsemen want the increased revenue that the track already RECEIVES reflected in larger purses. No one is trying to step on xpressbet, etc. It's between the horsemen and the tracks.

Perhaps the lack of coverage has more to do with egos.. might be tough for a track to admit the horsemen can get it by the short hairs..

I'm glad you pointed that out. I did miss that.

But even with that said, the focus is pointed more towards the tracks, and most of them still aren't posting a profit WITH the extra revenue. Magna is in the dumps, they haven't had one profitable quarter since Magna took them over, CDI tracks fair a little better, they have better management and they actually made 80 million dollars last quarter, but that is the first time in a lONG time that they have turned a profit in the first quarter of the year.

Bedouwia · Postby **Bedouwia** » Mon May 26, 2008 5:13 am

Madelyn, thank you for the clarification of the dispute. I am in no way against the ADW organizations. I hope that more people can watch racing and bet conveniently in this way. Unfortunately, here in Texas we are prevented from betting on our Texas races via ADW. In a state as large as Texas, with tracks few and far between, it is really a stupid law. Today at Lone Star, there are several races that I would like to bet on, but need to go to a race track to do so.

I am on the side of the horsemen's groups. The horsemen are facing ever increasing costs, and need every bit they can manage to win -- to keep racing going. I am sure that the race track owners have their own problems and issues, but I don't think that they have done a very good job in many cases. Just my opinion.

Bedouwia