Racing Fans Soon May Be Able to Bet on the Internet

With modem and mouse, racing fans will soon be able to make their bets via the Internet on an experimental World Wide Web site sponsored by the New York state Off-Track Betting Corp.

It would be the nation’s first state-sponsored race-wagering business to offer customers betting directly from a personal computer.

The Internet has many Web sites devoted to horse racing, including one authorized by OTB. Users of that site can set up betting accounts online, but must wager by phone.

Mark Seber, OTB’s director of corporate services, told the Daily Gazette of Schenectady, N.Y., that betting directly from the Internet should be available soon. “We’ve been testing it internally for a couple of months,” he said.

Baseball

New demands by free-agent pitcher Steve Avery reportedly are holding up a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Avery, formerly of the Atlanta Braves, was on the verge of signing a one-year, $4.2-million deal with Boston.

But ESPN’s Peter Gammons reported that Avery is now seeking a multiyear contract that would allow him to become a free agent after only one season.

Football

An Ohio appeals court has ruled in favor of the former Cleveland Browns in claims filed by disgruntled season ticket holders.

The 11th Ohio District Court of Appeals on Tuesday struck down partial refunds granted to three Lake County men who complained that the Browns’ decision to move to Baltimore devalued the tickets they held for the team’s final games of last season.

Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti had awarded a combined $480 in refunds to Anthony Pace, Edward Reed and Milton Stern.

The appeals court ruled that Painesville Municipal Court lacked jurisdiction to handle the cases of Pace and Reed because they could not show they purchased their tickets in Lake County.

But in Stern’s case, the court dismissed a broader claim that season-ticket holders had contractual rights to Browns games extending beyond the 1995 season.

Miscellany

Kobe, devastated by an earthquake in January 1995, was one of four Japanese cities and six states awarded 2002 World Cup soccer games. Keita Yamashita, a spokesman of the Japan Football Assn., said games also will be played in Sapporo, Yokohama and Osaka along with the states of Miyagi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Niigata, Shizuoka and Oita.

The Montreal Canadiens said defenseman Vladimir Malakhov will be out at least six weeks after breaking his right thumb during a fight in Monday’s 6-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

A debate in Texas over girls wrestling on high school teams escalated as the mothers of two wrestlers not allowed to compete filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Texas Wrestling Officials Assn. The association disbanded a few weeks ago rather than be forced to referee girl vs. boy matches.

* Randy Harvey is on vacation.