FOX Sports is touting the success of its horse betting media partnership and its equity stake in the New York Racing Association‘s wagering app NYRA Bets ahead of Saturday‘s Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
The media partnership with NYRA began in 2016, and in 2021, the broadcaster took a 25% stake in the horse betting app. Since then, as the broadcasting hours increased, so too has the wagering handle.
“Every other media relationship, not just in horse racing but across all sports, is about getting the rights and then recouping via ad sales and affiliate revenue,” Mike Mulvihill, FOX Sports head of strategy and analytics, recently told LSR. “In this case, we had the ad sales, and the affiliate revenue is pretty negligible, but we can participate in the wagering upside.”
Broadcast boosts horse betting handle
The two sides launched their partnership with 80 hours of horse betting coverage on FS2 at Saratoga in the summer of 2016, coinciding with NYRA Bets’ debut.
In 2020, FOX Sports broadcast more than 700 hours of live racing coverage.
This year, the broadcaster expects 950 hours of horse racing programming across its channels, including 17.5 hours of national programming on FOX. That total is up from 1.5 hours of national coverage in 2020.
How much has handle grown?
NYRA Bets horse betting handle reached $7.2 million in the second half of 2016. In 2020, handle grew to more than $225 million bet on the app across 300-plus tracks in the US and abroad.
“In the eight years we’ve been in collaboration, NYRA Bets handle has grown considerably,” Mulvihill said. “This year, we think we will go over $350 million.”
Added television coverage typically drives more betting handle. Race tracks featured on FanDuel TV, for example, often see a boost in wagering from the increased exposure.
FOX one of the first to try sports betting
FOX was one of the first major media companies to dive into online US sports betting, launching FOX Bet with The Stars Group in 2019.
The app was later part of a lengthy lawsuit after FanDuel parent Flutter acquired The Stars Group. FOX was ultimately granted a 10-year option to acquire an 18.6% stake in FanDuel for $3.7 billion.
With the two sides facing an August 2023 deadline to decide on the brand’s future, FOX Bet stopped taking bets in July 2023 and turned the licenses over to Flutter. FOX Bet struggled to gain traction in the sports betting market, earning less than a 1% share in states where it operated.
Horse betting eyeballs
Typically, less than 50,000 people watch horse racing coverage on FS2. With live racing on FS1, viewership increases to about 100,000 viewers.
National broadcasts on FOX draw around 500,000 viewers. To compare, 16.7 million people tuned in for the Kentucky Derby in May on NBC. In June, 3.7 million viewers watched Belmont Stakes coverage between FOX and FS1.
NYRA declined to provide specific signup figures but did tell LSR that the increase in new NYRA Bets customers is directly related to which channel is broadcasting the races.
“Historically, television coverage on FS1/FS2 has generated 100% more NYRA Bets signups compared with coverage strictly via the simulcast feed. In addition, broadcast coverage on FOX results in another 100 percent increase in signups compared with FS1/FS2,” NYRA said in an email.
Broadcast strategy
The broadcast strategy, Mulvihill said, is to change the perception of horseplayers, at least in part.
While the viewership on FOX Sports tends to be an older demographic that mirrors horseplayers, Mulvihill wants the broadcast to attract a younger audience.
“There was this perception of the type of person that went to the track and bet on races,” he said. “It is not a flattering stereotype, so we wanted to put together a group of talent that seemed like people you would want to hang out with for the day. They are younger, witty, smart, attractive and know the sport inside and out.”
Executive agrees with approach
NYRA’s CEO David O’Rourke echoed that sentiment last week at the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga.
Speaking on a panel about race track redevelopment projects, he said the goal with the new Belmont Park is to create an integrated sports and entertainment facility that “makes it cool to go to the races.”
Sporting event first, horse betting second
One of the main complaints from horseplayers is the lack of horse betting education on mainstream broadcasts. FOX, however, wants the main focus to be on the sporting event rather than the betting event.
“Fox is a sports brand, and these are sports networks,” Mulvihill said. “Everything we do should, first and foremost, be a pure sporting competition. Then secondary to that, we don’t want to shy away from the wagering aspect since that is why the sport can exist at all, but we want to make sure that it isn’t primarily about betting.”
The media deal between FOX Sports and NYRA runs through 2030.
Is contraction coming?
With several tracks closing recently and the marquee racing events attracting much attention, industry stakeholders have questioned whether investing in facilities rather than finding ways to grow betting handle, a track’s main revenue source, is the right strategy.
“I think about the three Triple Crown tracks,” Mulvihill said. “By 2027, you’re going to have a significantly renovated Churchill Downs, a completely rebuilt Pimlico, and a completely rebuilt Belmont Park, so for the jewel events of the sport, I think there’s a really positive future. I might be in the minority opinion here, but I think some consolidation is a good thing, and the business will contract around the tracks that offer a really good fan experience, that take horse safety seriously, and that offer the highest quality product.”
