The inaugural weekend of racing for Golden State Racing at Pleasanton in Northern Californnia was blacked out on several large account-wagering networks and at bricks and mortar sites in various states due to failure of the sides to reach agreement on a simulcasting deal, officials involved in the process said on Monday. The Saturday and Sunday race cards were not available on Xpressbet or NYRA Bets, nor at the sites represented by Monarch Content Management, a simulcast marketing company owned by 1/ST Racing. XpressBet is also owned by 1/ST Racing. The restrictions on the simulcast network had a significant impact on handle for opening weekend, at least when compared with the signal from Golden Gate Fields last year, which ran on the same weekend. According to Equibase data, total handle on the two cards at Golden Gate last year for the comparable weekend was $5.4 million, compared with $1.47 million last weekend at Pleasanton. Golden Gate Fields, which is owned by 1/ST, was closed permanently earlier this year. The closure has led a new group, called Golden State Racing, to stage more dates on the Northern California fair circuit in order to make up for the loss of live racing. The meet at Pleasanton was the first to be operated under the Golden State Racing banner. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Larry Swartzlander, the executive director of Golden State Racing and the California Authority of Racing Fairs, said that negotiations continued throughout Monday on a deal that would bridge the gap between the two sides. Pleasanton’s next card of live racing is scheduled for Friday. “I think we’re about 75 percent of the way there,” Swartzlander said. Last year, CARF was represented by Monarch in their simulcasting negotiations, but Monarch dropped the group from its negotiating roster as of 2024. Monarch marketed all of the California tracks under a single contract. In response, CARF reached out this year to Churchill Downs Inc. to be its negotiating agent this year. CDI’s account-wagering company, Twinspires.com, signed an agreement with CARF, as did Fanduel, the parent company of TVG, according to officials. Those sites carried the Pleasanton races this weekend. Scott Daruty, the president of Monarch, did not return a phone call on Monday. Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for the New York Racing Association, which owns and operates NYRABets, said that the association rejected the terms of the deal because they “do not reflect the level of racing at Pleasanton.” “NYRA will continue to negotiate in good faith, and we remain optimistic a compromise is within reach," McKenna said. The overall rate for California tracks, which is now dominated by Santa Anita and Del Mar, is around 9 percent when including various fees, some of which are set by regulation. Golden State Racing and CARF were seeking the same fee for Pleasanton, according to officials for both sides. Many Southern California racing constituencies resisted the efforts by Golden State Racing to augment the Northern California circuit with new fair dates, under the belief that the closure of Golden Gate Fields would lead to consolidation of racing stables in the south and strengthen the racing there. Handle and purses at Santa Anita and Del Mar have been declining significantly for several years. Golden State Racing has been arguing that it needs support from all racing constituencies in the state to keep Northern California strong, and the impasse over simulcasting has only weakened its financial position. “Obviously, it puts a financial stress on us right out of the gate,” Swartzlander said. The nine-race Saturday card at Pleasanton had an average of 7.3 horses per race, while the eight-race card on Sunday had an average of 5.9 horses per race. Justin Oldfield, a Northern California horse and farm owner who is the chairman of a Northern California racing advisory committee, said that the cards at Pleasanton last weekend compared well with the product put on at Golden Gate Fields. “The handle decline this weekend was in no way indicative of the quality of the product,” Oldfield said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.