NYRA signal not available on the internet in New York

Albany is blocking the NYRA signal from being broadcasted within New York on the internet on sites like YOUBET or TWINSPIRES. It seems like a move to protect OTB as this forces many people to tune in to the OTB channel or head into a OTB branch to watch local races. Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding in the language of the NYSRWB law. It is absolutely preposterous that we can bet on NYRA races but can not see the feed.


My cohort Tim B. distributed the letter listed below. It is a template so you can inform your state officials of the situation with the NYRA signal. Feel free to cut and paste the letter and forward it to your elected officials. Every horseplayer from New York should hold their elected officials accountable and send a email to their state senator and assemblyman. To make life easy I will post the letter and the links so you can find and write to the elected officials that work for you. New Yorkers pay the highest taxes in the country, demand some value for your hard work. Stop letting the Assembly and Senate get away with corruption while we remain silent.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

http://www.senate.state.ny.us/sdloo...search?OpenForm

Hello,

As a horse racing bettor and fan, it is a shame that Section 1003 of the State Pari-Mutuel Wagering Law has not been amended to allow advance deposit wagering organizations like youbet.com, twinspires.com, TVG.com, et. al, to provide live streaming simulcast video of New York tracks. Not all areas of New York State are serviced by an Off-Track Betting corporation (i.e. Oneonta) and those fans who desire to play New York racetracks in those locales lose because they cannot view the races live. Horse Racing is a real-time game-of-chance, and the ability to watch the live broadcast from Aqueduct, Belmont or Saratoga provides bettors important information relevant to making wagers that is not available in print or on websites like DRF.com, NYRA.com, or the various newspapers that cover horse racing. If the language of Section 1003 of the State Pari-Mutuel Wagering Law is amended to include "advance deposit wagering companies" as able to distribute the simulcast signal, it would bring the present law up-to-date and would open simulcasting to all areas of New York State not covered by the regional Off-Track Betting corporations.

Down below is the current law, as written of Section 1003 of the State Pari-Mutuel Wagering Law. Please forward this to other state assemblymen and women so this law gets re-written and better serves the horse racing fans of the Empire State.

Sincerely,


Except as provided herein, the board shall not approve any application to conduct

simulcasting into individual or group residences, homes or other areas

for the purposes of or in connection with pari-mutuel wagering. The

board may approve simulcasting into residences, homes or other areas to

be conducted jointly by one or more regional off-track betting

corporations and one or more of the following: a non-profit racing

association, a thoroughbred racing corporation or association or a

harness racing corporation or association; provided (i) the simulcasting

consists only of those races on which pari-mutuel betting is authorized

by this chapter at one or more simulcast facilities for each of the

contracting off-track betting corporations which shall include wagers

made in accordance with section one thousand sixteen, one thousand

seventeen and one thousand seventeen-a of this chapter; provided further

that the contract provisions or other simulcast arrangements for such

simulcast facility shall be no less favorable than those in effect on

January first, two thousand five; (ii) that each off-track betting

corporation having within its geographic boundaries such residences,

homes or other areas technically capable of receiving the simulcast

signal shall be a contracting party; (iii) the distribution of revenues

shall be subject to contractual agreement of the parties except that

statutory payments to non-contracting parties, if any, may not be

reduced; provided, however, that nothing herein to the contrary shall

prevent a track from televising its races on an irregular basis

primarily for promotional or marketing purposes as found by the board.

For purposes of this paragraph, the provisions of section one thousand

thirteen of this article shall not apply. Any agreement authorizing an

in-home simulcasting experiment commencing prior to May fifteenth,

nineteen hundred ninety-five, may, and all its terms, be extended until

June thirtieth, two thousand eight; provided, however, that any party to

such agreement may elect to terminate such agreement upon conveying

written notice to all other parties of such agreement at least

forty-five days prior to the effective date of the termination, via

registered mail. Any party to an agreement receiving such notice of an

intent to terminate, may request the board to mediate between the

parties new terms and conditions in a replacement agreement between the

parties as will permit continuation of an in-home experiment until June

thirtieth, two thousand eight; and (iv) no in-home simulcasting in the

thoroughbred special betting district shall occur without the approval

of the regional thoroughbred track.

(b) Any agreement authorizing in-home simulcasting pursuant to this

section shall be in writing, and upon written request, a copy shall be

provided to the representative horsemen's group of the racing

association or corporation that is party to said agreement. Such

agreement shall include a categorical statement of new and incremental

expenses directly related and attributable to the conduct of in-home

simulcasting. The representative horsemen's group may, within thirty

days of receiving the agreement, petition the board for a determination

as to the appropriateness and reasonableness of any expenses attributed

by either the racing association or corporation or the off-track betting

corporation.