The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today announced that its subsidiary, NTRA Services, distributed more than $440,000 in additional monies to horsemen and racetracks in Kentucky this week. The revenue was derived from account wagering by TVG subscribers in Kentucky from October 2000 through February 2001 and brings the total amount distributed since September 1999 to $1.95 million.TVG is available on basic cable in Louisville and Lexington, where most of the wagering activity occurred, and through the Dish Network Satellite
service in other local markets in the state.These ongoing "source-market fee" payments represent NTRA-backed support for live racing programs for the markets in which the TVG wagers are placed. They are distributed based on a mutually agreed upon formula among local racetracks and horsemen, with one-half of the money allocated to purses. "TVG's revenue sharing program for horsemen in local markets is the model by which account wagering and live racing can both thrive," said NTRA
Commissioner Tim Smith. "For evidence, we need look no further than the
$1.95 million in incremental monies that have been paid in just 18 months
and which benefit our member tracks and horsemen." "The latest results show that as wagering levels through the NTRA Services hub continue to increase, the economic benefits returning to the Kentucky market become more significant," said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of TVG. "We appreciate the continued support of our track partners and the Kentucky horsemen. With that level of support as we expand into other markets, we are confident that TVG and NTRA Services can produce the incremental growth to the racing industry that we have promised.""The development of source-market fees was a significant innovation for
racetracks and horsemen in this era of growth in account wagering," said
Alex Waldrop, president of Churchill Downs. "These fees are an important
source of new revenue for all of Kentucky racing and we applaud TVG and the NTRA as they join us in the effort to expand our market and increase those source-market revenues."
An Official Marketing Partner of the National Thoroughbred Racing
Association (NTRA), TVG features live, hosted Thoroughbred, harness and
Quarter Horse racing from America's premier racetracks. TVG is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Broomfield, Colo.,
Tulsa, Okla., and Louisville, Ky. Currently, the network is available to
five million cable and satellite television subscribers. TVG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide International (NASDAQ: GMST).