I suspect there is something essentially wrong with the horse racing industry, especially in light of the recent blowup over the simulcast signal and the agreements between the New York Racing Association and the Television Games Network.

Here’s what has happened: NYRA made a deal to give TVG exclusive in home broadcasting rights, allowing people across the country – but not New Yorkers – to wager on New York racing via the TVG system. The deal came at an opportune time for NYRA, which had run into trouble with the Horseman’s Account.

Simply put, this is the account into which horsemen pay their fees, and from which the purses are paid. NYRA had been using the money for something else, and funds were suddenly short by about $14 million. NYRA Vice-President Bill Nader told me today that the TVG contribution towards squaring that account was “considerable.”

But a consortium of 19 racetracks called the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative was not pleased with the arrangement. The cooperative was formed so that the tracks could bargain as one entity. The group has expressed concerns in the past that the growth of TVG (which is bent on expansion) would harm their account wagering income.

Under the new TVG/NYRA agreement, some of the tracks in the cooperative will not be able to accept account wagering on New York racing. In protest, the consortium pulled the simulcast signal.

Matt Hegarty wrote in the Daily Racing Form that “the Interstate handle on the Belmont Park signal has dropped 20.5 percent,” and that “the declines, measured over five racing days, have contributed to a 13.8 percent drop in all-sources wagering on the Belmont signal since Sept. 15.” More tracks have joined the boycott since those numbers were totaled.

Those tracks seem to be standing on principle, but I suspect that they are motivated by a fear of the future exclusivity of simulcast account wagering. In 2003, the NYRA tracks generated a nationwide handle of over $2.5 billion. No one wants to get boxed out of that.

The folks who are taking the worst of this are the fans. This is what I mean when I say there is something essentially wrong with horseracing. The wrong people are always punished.

On Derby Day this year, the jockeys almost struck to win the right to wear advertising on their clothes. It was suggested that the purity of the sport would be harmed if the jocks were allowed to endorse products. Yet one of the races on the card that day was named after a whiskey. The Breeders’ Cup is “powered by Dodge.” The jockeys, many of whom work very hard for not a lot of money, take the hit. They got their way in Kentucky, but they had to sue.

This time, racing fans all over the country are being denied the pleasure of watching and wagering on fall racing at Belmont, which is some of the best racing in the country.

Everyone involved seems to think that everyone else will simply come to their senses, which is a recipe for stalemate. All entities are ignoring the core problem, which is the assumption that horse racing cannot grow. The players are fighting over that which exists, instead of attempting to bring in more fans. That’s why these squabbles erupt. Sadly, bickering and taking away the simulcast signals only alienates fans.

***

Preps for the Breeders’ Cup this year are few and far between. Most of the big horses will be coming into the race off a layoff. Pleasantly Perfect, last year’s winner, will run after 69 days off; Birdstone will run after 61 days off. But there are a few out there who are still trying to earn a spot in the races on October 30.

High on that list is Imperialism, who will start the likely favorite at Louisiana Downs this weekend in the Grade II Super Derby. The race is run over 1 1 /8 miles, and is worth $500,000.

Imperialism won two springtime races in Southern California, and scrambled like a demon to show in the Derby. Trainer Kristin Mulhall has not run the colt since the Preakness, in which he finished fifth.

Now he’s got a new blinker setup, which might compensate for the fact that he’s practically blind in his right eye and tends to lug. He certainly needs a race and if he runs it well, owner Steve Taub has said that they’ll be in Texas next month.

Sharing the money on the tote board will be the other California import, Borrego. This is the horse that closed behind Smarty Jones in the Arkansas Derby and looked like the real thing going into the Triple Crown. He was underwhelming in both Louisville and Baltimore, then took a break. He might run well after his September 4 place at Del Mar, but it seems to me that he’s not worth the short odds.

Likely speed Britt’s Jules and South Africa, on the other hand, look better than their odds will be.