Ladbrokes, the UK's largest bookmaker, Sportech, the owners of Littlewoods Bet Direct, and Surrey Sports will provide fixed odds betting for a period of two years from the date of the lauch of attheraces' interactive television channel, iDTV, in May. The finances of the deal were not disclosed.
The fixed odds service will also be available on the attheraces internet site launched at the end of last year.
Christopher Stoddard, chief executive of attheraces, the company backed by BSkyB, Channel 4 and track owner Arena Leisure, said: "We look forward to working with Ladbrokes, Sportech and Surrey Sports, which are among the most established betting and gaming operators in the world, as our fixed odds partners.
"While we are a pool betting platform, fixed odds betting is the most popular form of wagering in the UK at present, and these strategic alliances will complement our pari-mutuel income."
The UK's horseracing industry also hit the headlines today after representatives of the country's leading bookmakers sent a letter to the government's secretary of sport Tessa Jowell and the sports minister Richard Caborn, threatening to take legal action over future arrangements for the replacement of the levy scheme.
The Bookmakers' Committee, which is headed by Warwick Bartlett, said that the British Horseracing Board would be breaking EU laws if it went ahead with plans to have a commercial replacement of the levy after it expires in April.
Bookmakers believe that a dual-track plan to have commercial payments for racing data offset against the levy could flout EU laws on state aid.
