Judge to rule in televised racing case

By Alistair Osborne A High Court judge will tomorrow hand down a judgement that could have serious implications for the relations and contracts between Britain's leading bookmakers and 31 racecourses. Mr Justice Morgan is expected to rule on a bitter dispute that has divided the racing industry centring on the emergence of a new racecourse-backed company, Turf TV, to sell television coverage to betting shops. Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral Racing and Fred Done's Betfred chain, plus their media rights arm Bags, sued Turf TV, its software provider Alphameric and the 31 courses, with the exception of Ascot. The bookies alleged that the tracks, including Cheltenham, Newbury and York, broke competition laws by selling the rights to Turf TV, which then charged them much more for coverage of their meetings. Turf TV and the courses... [read full story]