COLUMN: Jay Richards

     A small group of major Nevada resort executives turned down the proposal by TV producer Ralph Siraco and independent bookmaker Vic Salerno to link home TV racing in Las Vegas to a simulcast contract with the Thoroughbred Owners of California and tracks in that state.
      As a result, the five-month-old Nevada blackout of live TV racing from California isn't likely to end soon. TOC president John Van de Kamp insists any simulcast agreement with Nevada must be "side by side" with a Las Vegas home TV package.
      Hopes for home TV racing are still alive, but the project would have to go forward without the NPMA.
      A Friday meeting restricted to corporate executives and a few race book directors of selected NPMA-member resorts brought more bad news for Nevada horse players starved for California racing.
      When asked for the official NPMA response to the Siraco/Salerno home TV racing proposal, executive director Don Driscoll said, "We're not going to sanction it, support it or fund it."
      Friday's meeting included high-level representatives of the NPMA's four founding members -- Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Las Vegas Hilton and MGM Grand -- as well as Bally's, The Mirage, Stardust, Coast Properties (Barbary Coast, Gold Coast and Orleans) and Station Casinos (Palace Station, Boulder Station and Texas Station).
      Two attendees in favor of accepting the home TV proposal represented the Coast Properties and Station Casinos.
      One of them, Robert "Muggsy" Muniz, race book director of the Coast Properties, strongly believes the NPMA is ignoring the democratic process with its 51-race book membership.
      "This decision (to deny the home TV proposal) is highly unfair to the majority of race books, who were never given the opportunity -- point blank -- to speak or to vote on the issue of accepting or rejecting it," Muniz said.
      "No vote on home TV racing was taken at the meeting, but the decision against it was made anyway."
      Muniz added, "The (race books supported by) locals are in favor of it. Why not the Strip properties?"
      This begs the question: Does the NPMA's decision-making process rest firmly in the grasp of a few powerful resorts which arbitrarily determine -- based on their own self-interests -- what issues the rest of the membership will be allowed to vote?
      In other business, the NPMA faxed draft letters Friday for new simulcast contracts to Hollywood Park and Golden Gate Fields. The offer to Hollywood Park called for a rate of 3.0 percent on win-place-show bets and 3.5 percent on exotic wagers.
      However, a well-placed source close to Hollywood Park chairman and CEO R.D. Hubbard said the NPMA proposal was immediately rejected.
      Hubbard reportedly will not budge from an across-the-board rate of 3.5 percent -- meaning the NPMA will have to hike its rate on win-place-show bets by an additional half-percent.
      Another attendee of Friday's meeting, who asked not to be identified, said lawsuits by the NPMA against Los Alamitos and Santa Anita for alleged breach of contract and anti-trust violations were imminent.
      "Los Alamitos will be sued first, because winning that suit is a slam dunk, and then Santa Anita," the source said.
      Meanwhile, Salerno, CEO of Leroy's -- a statewide chain of race and sports books -- said he is confident he can deliver all races live from major California tracks to a Las Vegas cable TV channel on a daily, six-hour block of programming.
      He's willing to underwrite over $900,000 in first-year costs, confident of recouping expenses and making a substantial profit through Leroy's horse race telephone betting accounts.
      "There's nothing stopping us from putting races on cable TV," Salerno said.
      "Realistically, can't Prime Cable carry anything they want? My attorneys think we have a strong position."
      Salerno outlined some of the steps he's taken in hopes of making home TV racing in Las Vegas a reality.
      "We've signed a contract with LVDC (Las Vegas Dissemination Co., the pari-mutuel and simulcast link with the nation's race tracks), we should be finalizing a contract with Prime Cable soon and we've notified both the (Nevada Gaming) Commission and the (Gaming Control) Board of our intentions," he said.
      "We have a meeting with (Gaming Control Board Chairman) Bill Bible Thursday to answer any questions he may have. I'm very optimistic. I'm going forward with this until someone shows me I can't."
      Salerno is enthused by the support he's received from the California racing industry, and said he feels confident he can strike a deal with Hollywood Park if the NPMA cannot.
      "California is really willing to work with us. I think Mr. Hubbard and I will have no problem reaching a mutual agreement (for Hollywood Park, which opens April 25)," Salerno said.
      "I think most of the people in this state are behind me."
      You can bet on that.
     
      Jay Richards' horse racing column is published Friday and Sunday.