Loud And Clear: NYRA And MidAtlantic Cooperative Ink Deal

NYRA and the MidAtlantic Cooperative (MAC) of racetracks have inked a one-year deal to restore NYRA’s simulcast signal to 18 tracks in Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, according to Matt Hegarty of the DAILY RACING FORM. The deal “ends a six-week blackout,” as the MAC had shut off the signal from NYRA’s Belmont Park on September 15 “in an effort to force NYRA and its account-wagering partner, [TVG], to cede in-home broadcast rights for NYRA’s races to the cooperative tracks.” Suffolk Downs “broke away from the cooperative last week and signed a separate agreement with NYRA.” NYRA Senior VP Bill Nader said that the deal “did not differ in any respect from a contract that was presented to the [MAC] before the blackout began.” Nader estimated that NYRA lost “just over $1[M]” in simulcast revenue from the tracks, but added that wagering on Belmont races through TVG, which took wagers from residents of Maryland and Massachusetts during the dispute, “was up 40[%] over the seven-week meet” (DRF, 10/27).