Arizona Downs RIP

[Rverge]

from another board:
Arizona Downs has informed employees and horsemen that the racetrack’s summer season is being suspended due to ongoing issues in the battle for fair and equal access to out-of-state racing signals for its Off Track Betting system.

Pending additional financing, the final live race days for the 2019 summer meet are Saturday and Sunday.

“OTBs are the lifeblood of horse racing in our state because they fund the purse distribution to the horse owners, trainers, grooms and jockeys that compete at Arizona racetracks,” said Arizona Downs Owner and Partner Tom Auther. “Our OTBs need access to the same robust network of signals that Turf Paradise offers at its OTBs through Monarch Content Management. That’s why we pushed for legislation that would give us fair and equal access.

"Arizona Downs’ OTBs are still open for business, and we are planning to aggressively expand their number.”

HB 2547 is a new law that mandates that any simulcast signal of live racing brought into Arizona from another state “must be offered to each commercial live-racing permittee in this state.” According to the Turf Paradise website, Turf Paradise and Monarch are intending to sue the State of Arizona in federal court to stop the new law.