Impasse Unresolved for Mid-Atlantic Players

It appears doubtful that an impasse between the company that controls the simulcast rights for Gulfstream Park and other tracks and a cooperative representing 23 tracks in the Mid-Atlantic region will be resolved in time for bettors to play the Florida track when it opens Dec. 6.



A statement released late Friday afternoon by Monarch Capital Management, which represents tracks owned by The Stronach Group and others in simulcast negotiations, said it "very much regret(s) that customers are currently not able to watch and wager on Monarch tracks at simulcast locations that are part of the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative.



"Monarch has done everything possible to try to ensure that signals remain on during our negotiations with the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative," the statement added. "In fact, Monarch has offered several times to extend the current terms of our simulcast agreement with the Mid-Atlantic tracks while negotiations continue in order that customers not be inconvenienced. However, the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative has refused to accept any extension, and has voluntarily ceased taking Monarch signals."



The stalemate affects the current signals from Stronach tracks Gulfstream, Laurel Park, and Golden Gate Fields, as well as Tampa Bay Downs, Turf Paradise and others under the Monarch umbrella. The Mid-Atlantic Cooperative represents most tracks in Ohio, Texas, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The issue, according to the Monarch statement, is that roughly half the tracks in the cooperative do not offer Thoroughbred racing.



Monarch has proposed a contract that details what rates each simulcast site should pay for signal rights. In the past, the cooperative members have paid Monarch a flat rate.



"Racetracks such as Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Tampa Bay Downs, together with their horsemen, have made significant investments in their product over the years, and the high quality of these racing signals has been maintained, if not improved," Monarch said. "Continuing to invest is not sustainable if these racetracks and their horsemen cannot receive a larger share of the simulcast revenue than they historically have.



"Approximately one-half of the Mid-Atlantic racetracks do not conduct any live Thoroughbred racing. We believe this fact is relevant to the price these locations should pay for the Thoroughbred signals they purchase."



Mid-Atlantic Cooperative said earlier in the week that it has been engaged in negotiations with Monarch for a new agreement since late September, when Monarch presented its initial thoughts on the contractual relationship between the parties.



"We have been and will continue to try to resolve this impasse but given the pressures generated by current business trends these increases for content are not sustainable," said Phil O'Hara, executive director of Mid-Atlantic Cooperative.