NBC adds Breeders Cup as ESPN exits TV horse racing
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/01/nbc-add-breeders-cup-as-espn-exits-tv-horse-racing/1?csp=34sports

NBC has added horse racing’s Breeders Cup, as ESPN gives up those TV rights, and will this year air the first-ever running of the $5 million Cup Classic in primetime.

For ESPN, which has been airing fewer horse races in the seven years that it’s had Cup TV rights, the move represents an exit from covering horse racing, which now joins hockey and golf as sports that ESPN has largely walked away from. The Cup will be held Nov. 2-3, when ESPN/ABC already has lots of college football and NASCAR action.

I found this quote today in an article written by Steve Davidowitz, an author on racing who should know better:

“#9. Unlike college and pro football or basketball — as well as other sports that invite gambling with point spreads — I prefer horse racing for a reason that is rarely considered, yet it might be as important as anything on this list: When your horse wins, the margin at the wire does not have any bearing on whether you will be paid. Conversely, when you are betting on football and/or basketball, you are always at the mercy of the winning margin and no team factors the bookmaker’s point spread into its game plan.”

Seriously? I’m not a sports bettor, but could someone involved in wagering NOT have heard of ‘money line’ bets where you get odds for betting on the team that wins the game outright? When I put a small ‘rooting’ bet on the Giants to beat the Packers last week, I got odds of +260, meaning that a $100 bet would win $260 if the Giants won (which they did!) On this bet, the margin of victory does not matter. Could this expert not know this?

There were other things in the article with which one could disagree, but this quote was a shocking one, a real doozy.

Stronach Says He Wants to Protect Santa Anita | BloodHorse.com
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/67057/stronach-says-he-wants-to-protect-santa-anita

The California Horse Racing Board received a surprise visit from Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach during its meeting Jan. 19 at the racetrack. Stronach told the board he wants to see Santa Anita protected against real estate speculation in the future.

Stronach addressed the board briefly during its public comment period. Citing the track’s potential value for future development, he said he would like to safeguard Santa Anita “for racing in perpetuity.”

Aqueduct Cancels Live Racing Due to Snow
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/67077/aqueduct-cancels-live-racing-due-to-snow

Aqueduct Racetrack canceled live racing for Saturday, Jan. 21, due to snow. Aqueduct and the Belmont Café will be open for simulcasting.

The New York area is expected to receive four to five inches of snow, with the heaviest accumulation before noon. Some spots along the western shore of Long Island may receive up to six inches. The snow is expected to be followed by sleet.

Christie signs off-track betting bill into law
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20120118/NEWS01/301180032

TRENTON — North Jersey restaurants may be offering horse racing bets as a side dish by the end of the year.

A bill allowing wagering in taverns and restaurants was signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday. The measure was one of about 100 bills passed during the lame-duck session of the Legislature that needed action by the governor Tuesday.

The law directs the state Racing Commission to implement a pilot program for taverns, restaurants and similar establishments in the northern part of the state — excluding Monmouth County, where horse racing occurs — to provide electronic wagering terminals.