With signals from Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Laurel Park, Oaklawn Park and Golden Gate Fields cut off by Churchill Downs’ and Magna Entertainment’s TrackNet Media Group, the 80 or so members of the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association are booking pictureless bets themselves, without benefit of simulcast television.

Scott Daruty, president and CEO of TrackNet, says the casinos “are jumping through all kinds of hoops to book races,” and he says that without being able to see the races people are going to choose not to bet.

TrackNet wants higher fees for their signals, while the casinos feel they deserve lower rates because of the betting they generate.

Daruty says that volume has dropped by 6% to 11% on TrackNet tracks, and that the Nevada casinos “are adamant about not paying a materially significant increase.”

(Harness Tracks of America Daily Newsletter)