Bookmakers and racecourse chiefs are preparing for last ditch talks to see off the threat of blank TV screens at UK betting offices.

Heads of the Racecourse Association and the Confederation of Bookmakers' Associations will on Wednesday afternoon resume negotiations over rights allowing betting offices to show TV pictures from 49 courses.

An existing rights deal has been extended for 24-hours to allow betting offices to screen races from Wednesday's meetings at Ascot and Pontefract.

While bookmakers are believed to have offered the equivalent of �3,500 per betting shop, the RCA has pressed for �4,000 per outlet, the equivalent of 65p per race.

Failure to achieve a compromise would bar bookmakers from screening horseracing from any UK course other than a group of 10 tracks which has negotiated a separate rights deal.

Betting offices would also be able to screen meetings covered by Channel 4 and the BBC.

Edging closer

Negotiators were hopeful that a deal could be reached.

"Developments have been made," said RCA chief executive Stephen Atkin, who described the setting up of Wednesday's meeting as a "positive sign".

The RCA at negotiations last week dropped its cash demand from the equivalent of �5,000 per betting office, while the bookmakers increased their offer by �100 per outlet.

Bookmakers have threatened to ditch UK racing in favour of screening Irish, South African, Italian and US meetings, plus greyhound racing, if racecourse chiefs hold out for too high a fee.

TV channel launched

The troubled negotiation process echoes the tortured talks which ended in bookmakers paying �600m for the rights to reproduce racing data such as the list of runners and riders, handicap weights and race distances.

And it comes as racing channel Attheraces was launched over the Sky digital network.

The channel has been backed by Sky, Channel 4 and racecourse owner Arena Leisure.