Youbet.com wins with Churchill Downs. (Technology).INTERNET wagering company Youbet.com Inc. has formed an alliance with Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. host Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. Inc., making Youbet.com the official online wagering site for the Run for the Roses. Youbet.com and CDI CDI compact disc interactive: a system for storing a mix of software, data, audio, and compressed video for interactive use under processor control agreed to a one-year marketing relationship in which Woodland Hills-based Youbet.com will target Churchill Downs fans in six direct-mail campaigns. Churchill Downs also will place links to Youbet.com's Web site on its own sites, which include Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
Youbet.com also gets 30-second commercial spots on the 1,000-affiliate Churchill Downs Simulcast Network and print advertising on race programs at CDI tracks. David Marshall, Youbet.com chairman and chief executive, declined to disclose terms of the deal, but said he paid a "small fee" for the arrangement. Beyond that, CDI stands to gain from any increased traffic at Youbet.com. "For every person that comes on our system, there's a pretty good chance they're going to place a wager at one of their tracks," Marshall said. The deal is not exclusive, but Marshall said he doesn't expect CDI to make similar arrangements with anyone else. Both CDI and Youbet.com make money by collecting a percentage of money wagered, Marshall said. Youbet.com averages just more than 5 percent of each bet. Youbet.com started in 1987 and went public in 1995, raising $5 million. Since then, the company has raised another $100 million from a secondary offering, a preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders. Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate. offer and private investment. The company is not profitable, but Marshall said he expects to be by the end of the year. Youbet.com's stock, which trades on Nasdaq, closed at 82 cents the day the CDI deal was announced, up 8 percent. The company also announced a similar two-year deal with Maryland Jockey Club, which runs Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Pimlico officially opened in the fall of 1870, with the colt Preakness winning the first running of the Dinner Party Stakes. . Staff reporter Christopher Keough can be reached at (323) 549-5225 ext. 235, or at ckeough@labusinessjournal.com. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion