Media rights dispute between Flutter and Arc rolls on with Sky Bet refusing to offer prices for Bath card

The media rights dispute between Flutter and Arena Racing Company (Arc) was reignited for the second time in four days on Friday when Sky Bet confirmed they would not be offering any betting at all on Bath's evening fixture.

The stance was taken at Tuesday's meeting at Yarmouth when Sky Bet had gone a step further on the previous course of action of offering prices 15 minutes before each race at SP only.

Paddy Power, also owned by Flutter, offered prices at SP only shortly before the races at Yarmouth and will do the same at Bath.

The meeting at Bath was not listed on the websites of Sky Bet and Paddy Power on Friday morning.

The six-race card, for which 44 runners were declared, is worth a total of £39,750, with the 5½f maiden the most valuable contest at £9,650.

Bath was at the centre of the media rights storm between the two companies when it broke out on the eve of its meeting on July 3 as the two major bookmakers revealed they would not offer prices on a British race fixture for the first time.

Flutter reversed its unprecedented decision and offered SP-only betting with Paddy Power and Sky Bet after legal intervention by Arc.

Other meetings at Arc-owned tracks have been affected by Flutter's decision not to offer early prices, with Paddy Power and Sky Bet offering only SP prices at two Chepstow fixtures and one at Lingfield last month.

As was the case with Yarmouth, Sky Bet will only stream the action from Bath.

Speaking on Tuesday about the position taken with Yarmouth, a Flutter spokesperson said: "This decision has reluctantly been made due to the increased costs associated with certain aspects of our horse racing proposition.

"We remain absolutely committed to UK racing and in 2023, we invested over £140m back into the sport."

Arc did not wish to comment when approached by the Racing Post.

Read these next:

Sky Bet offer no betting at all at Yarmouth as media rights war escalates 

Explainer: what happened at Bath and why did a media rights war erupt? 

Top bookies refuse to offer odds at Bath on Wednesday as media rights war erupts 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.