The New York Racing Association (NYRA) found itself locked in another horse betting content dispute Wednesday, this time with industry powerhouse Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI).
On Wednesday morning, horse betting at Saratoga was unavailable on the CDI-owned TwinSpires app. Likewise, content from several CDI-owned race tracks was unavailable on NYRA Bets, the racing association’s advanced deposit wagering (ADW) platform.
In a release, NYRA said it is seeking financial terms from TwinSpires similar to those currently in place with all national advance deposit wagering platforms offering NYRA content.
NYRA statement on horse betting row
The racing association pointed to economic fundamentals in its statement.
“The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the shift from brick and mortar wagering to the largest national ADWs, and fundamentally changed the economics of horse racing in New York State,” NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke told LSR on Wednesday. “Accordingly, NYRA asked these ADWs to pay an additional source market fee of just 1 percent on wagers from New York, bringing that number in line or significantly lower than several other jurisdictions.
“Unlike their counterparts, CDI has refused to add this source market fee to an agreement struck in 2018. As a not-for-profit responsible for growing the sport while supporting our horsemen and backstretch community, this is untenable for horse racing in New York.”
Horse betting leader fires back
CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen fired back in his response to NYRA.
“Following NYRA’s disturbing recent pattern of demanding significant new economics from ADWs for no additional value in return, NYRA has elected to terminate TwinSpires’ access to its Saratoga signal today,” Carstanjen said. “While we hope to resolve this dispute quickly and amicably, make no mistake that we will continue to advocate for and invest in our customers and this industry.
“NYRA’s reckless pattern reflects an increasingly misguided understanding of how to best serve the racing industry in New York. Their actions are bad for horse racing and negatively impact our fans.”
DK Horse, a TwinSpires white-label app used by DraftKings, is unaffected by this dispute. Saratoga racing was available on the DK Horse app Wednesday afternoon.
Handle dropped without FanDuel
It is the second time this summer NYRA has been at the center of a horse racing content dispute.
During the July 4 holiday weekend, NYRA removed its races from FanDuel applications, including the FanDuel Sportsbook, FanDuel Racing app, and its horse betting-specific ADW, TVG. The two sides disagreed over an additional percentage of handle NYRA wanted from bets made by New York State residents.
The racing association saw handle drop more than 50% during the holiday weekend without FanDuel carrying its content. The two sides later resolved the impasse on July 11, the same day NYRA opened its popular summer racing season at Saratoga.
As part of the new contract, FanDuel made a “sizable contribution” to the NYRA Foundation to support non-profit organizations and backstretch services.
TwinSpires a popular product
Twinspires, like FanDuel, is a popular horse betting outfit. CDI recently touted record second-quarter revenue for TwinSpires at $159.9 million, up 15% from the second quarter last year.
Churchill Downs Incorporated saw a $4.3 million net increase in horse racing revenue, primarily from increased affiliate wagering handle. The increase was partially offset by a decline in TwinSpires handle, the company said in a release.
Additionally, $1.8 million came from the company’s online sports betting market access agreements and retail sports betting operation.
Big horse betting weekend ahead
According to the latest data from the New York State Gaming Commission, New York residents bet $16.3 million through TwinSpires in June, trailing only the $36.3 million bet through FanDuel.
Those two are routinely the most popular out-of-state ADWs for New York horseplayers.
This upcoming weekend is traditionally one of NYRA’s busiest in terms of handle and attendance. The prestigious Whitney Stakes headlines a 13-race card at Saratoga. Last year, Whitney Day handle approached $39.6 million with on-track attendance near 44,000 people.
