Simulcast spat keeps top tracks off local gaming board

By robert connelly | rconnelly@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Some bettors at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course haven’t noticed a blackout of tracks due to a simulcast spat, while others have.

“I miss those tracks. I wish they would solve it,” said Pat Tondo, 83, of Girard.

MidAtlantic Cooperative LLC, a purchasing cooperative that represents 23 racetracks, including Hollywood Gaming in Austintown, and Monarch Content Management Co. have yet to reach an agreement after negotiations stalled in late September. The blackout of tracks available for simulcast betting — when live races are broadcast to other tracks or gaming facilities for wagering — began Dec. 1. The tracks affected are Santa Anita, Del Mar, Gulfstream, Pimlico, Laurel Park, Lone Star Park, Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, Portland Meadows, the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park.

“We’re not going to pay excessively for the product, and it’s unfortunate because at the end of the day, the general public hurts,” said Mark Loewe, vice president of Ohio racing for Penn National Gaming Inc., the parent company of the Austintown racino. “We’re trying to work in good faith with the other tracks and find what is a reasonable rate.”

Bill Bartels, 51, of Canfield hasn’t noticed the simulcast blackout much, as he bets primarily on the New York tracks for simulcast. He bets with Sam Corona, 90, of Austintown.

“The little kiosks are nice, and you get to spread out,” he said of the simulcast booths. “So much better than New Castle.”

He is referring to the off-track betting site that closed at the end of November in New Castle, Pa., due to competition from Hollywood Gaming and other factors. He and Corona would bet there before, but now they save on gas money. Corona said he saves $70 a month by not driving to New Castle a few times a week.

“It’s just great to come here and blow some steam off,” Bartels said.

Tondo was betting with Nick Melfi, 84, of Girard. He recalled one bet specifically before his birthday a few weeks ago. He plays just the numbers, and since he was still 83, he bet his age. If he had bet 84, what he turned the next day, he would have won $2,000.

“I had a little luck last week,” Melfi said of recent bets with a smile.

The numbers also have been good for Hollywood Gaming’s racing.

“We are exceeding our forecasts [for parimutuel wagering] at this point, and we’re very excited the community is receiving us very well,” Loewe said. The off-track wagering on our races “has been in excess of $500,000 a day.”

Parimutuel wagering, or the handle, is the combination of bets placed at the track for live racing and through simulcast betting. Penn National officials have said that racing on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays would attract betting dollars as they fit into a “simulcast niche.”

“I see a lot of familiar faces in there every day, so I know it has a lot of local support,” said Tim Hamm, a local trainer who runs horses weekly at the racino. “I’m not totally surprised because the Mahoning Valley has a large block of older folks that support racing.”

Robert Schmitz, chairman of the Ohio Racing Commission, said this week that he hasn’t heard any complaints from horsemen on the new racetrack.

“It’s way too early to draw any conclusions on the handle,” said Schmitz. He said they wait until the season is over, once they have six months of data, to analyze the numbers.

It also helps that the weather has cooperated with the new track. The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported that it recorded 0.7 inches of snow at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport for December up to Friday afternoon.

“Any time we don’t have to cancel because of weather, it’s a positive. We’re pleased mother nature has been kind to us to this point,” Loewe said.

Dave Basler, executive director of the Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said the weather was a concern for moving a track to the area for the winter racing season. “We haven’t been close to canceling any days so far, and that’s mainly to do with a dry winter so far,” Basler said.