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FOX Sports and NYRA Announce Landmark Wagering and Media Rights Agreement

FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association, Inc. have announced an expanded partnership agreement that establishes FOX Sports as the official wagering partner of NYRA Bets and the leading media provider for elite Thoroughbred racing through the next decade.

The prior FOX Sports/NYRA media rights agreement provided a FOX Sports subsidiary with an option to acquire a 25% stake in NYRA Bets, LLC, a leading Advance Deposit Wagering platform launched in 2016 and available to customers in 30 states across the country. The FOX Sports subsidiary will exercise this option by the summer of 2021, pending final regulatory approval.

The newly announced agreement provides a FOX Sports subsidiary with a future opportunity to increase its equity interest in NYRA Bets.

As an unprecedented year interrupted live sports around the world, horse racing operated safely and continuously. NYRA Bets achieved record growth in 2020, as new fans engaged with horse racing by watching an unparalleled amount of coverage across FOX Sports' family of networks. Driven by a dramatic expansion in this live television coverage, NYRA Bets generated $225 million in wagering handle in 2020, a more than 100% increase compared to 2019.

“The remarkably rapid expansion of NYRA Bets, and the digital ADW wagering marketplace, make this an ideal opportunity for FOX Sports to deepen and broaden its investment in both premier media rights and the high-growth sports wagering industry. With our investment options in NYRA Bets, FOX is now uniquely positioned as the only media company with strategic stakes in digital bet-taking businesses in horse racing, sports betting, poker and casino gaming,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports' Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy and Analytics. “We're confident that our television partnership with NYRA will fuel continued growth for NYRA Bets in the years ahead ”

Dave O'Rourke, President and CEO, NYRA, underscored the importance of its partnership with FOX Sports to the sport in New York as well as across the country.

“FOX Sports has shown an unwavering commitment to the sport of horse racing over the past five years,” said O'Rourke. “The strength of our partnership with FOX Sports, and the continued expansion of our high-quality telecasts, has proven to be hugely beneficial for the New York racing community and the sport as a whole.”

The new agreement will extend FOX Sports' television rights with NYRA through 2030 and further expand exclusivity for daily racing at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

Under the new deal, FOX Sports expects to air at least 700 hours of coverage each year from Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course and, outside of prior commitments, gives the network exclusive national broadcast rights at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course through 2030. NYRA will serve as the production arm for all horse racing events during the term of the partnership.

NYRA and FOX Sports began their collaboration during the first season of Saratoga Live during the 2016 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course. The critically acclaimed show, broadcast daily from the grounds of Saratoga, aired 80 hours of live coverage on FS2 and coincided with the national launch of NYRA Bets. Since then, total coverage has grown to more than 700 hours in 2020. The NYRA Bets wagering handle has also grown–from $7.2 million in 2016 to over $225 million in 2020. Wagering through national ADW outlets increased 115% during that same period. Along with Saratoga Live, FOX Sports' NYRA television portfolio includes America's Day At The Races, airing in the spring, summer, fall and select dates throughout the winter racing season.

FOX Sports became the national television home for NYRA's Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course coverage in 2019. That same year, the brand furthered its commitment to horse racing by televising the GI Runhappy Travers to a national audience on the FOX broadcast network for the first time in network history. Following a successful presentation in 2019, the Travers returned to FOX in 2020.

The new FOX Sports/NYRA agreement ensures that the Travers will air LIVE on FOX through 2030.

“NYRA is delighted to extend our relationship with FOX Sports,” said Tony Allevato, President, NYRA Bets. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the FOX Sports team over the next decade to grow NYRA Bets while continuing to present the very best in horse racing coverage to more sports fans than ever before.”

The agreement does not include the GI Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and the Belmont S.

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NYRA Continuing Efforts to Bring Back Spectators

The New York Racing Association issued a statement Wednesday regarding it ongoing efforts to welcome fans back for the upcoming Belmont Park and Saratoga Racecourse meets. Horse and auto racing were omitted from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's guidance last week relating to reopening sporting events to the public in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

“Governor Cuomo's decision to expand capacity limits for sports fans beginning this April is incredibly positive news as we look toward the spring and summer,” said NYRA's Pat McKEnna. “NYRA will work closely with the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Gaming Commission to secure the requisite approvals to welcome fans back to Belmont Park this spring and to Saratoga Race Course this summer. As COVID-19 cases continue to decline and vaccines become more widely available, we are optimistic that capacity limits will increase in the coming months.

“NYRA has conducted live racing for the past eight months without the energy and excitement that the fans bring, and we have missed them dearly during this time. We look forward to turning the page, and opening the doors to these historic venues in the very near future.

“Considering the size and scope of the COVID-19 vaccination site on the first floor of Aqueduct Racetrack, where New York State will soon be distributing more than 4,000 doses per day, NYRA hopes to re-open Aqueduct to spectators in the fall of 2021.”

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Between The Hedges: Determining Post Times

Determining post time – the time at which a race is scheduled to start and entrants must be at their starting positions – is a complex calculation with a number of variables for New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) tracks.

There is a general notion that tracks blindly create post times and do so without coordinating with other tracks. But most tracks do work together.
Consider the extensive race dates offered across North America. In 2019, approximately 36,000 races were contested across 4,300 race days, with the summer months being the busiest.

Adding to the post time conundrum is the amount of daylight at different times of the calendar and the fact that NYRA runs year long. Sunset in New York is generally the earliest in December – at roughly 4:28 p.m. – and peaks at about 8:30 p.m. in June and July. Hence, necessitating different post times for NYRA tracks depending on the time of the year. NYRA attempts to conclude each race day within 30 minutes of sunset in the winter, both because of dusk settling earlier and to accommodate races offered by West Coast tracks.

There is a prime signal based on which track handles the most at each point during the year. NYRA almost always hits the board in terms of the top-three handling tracks, and during the Belmont meets and especially at Saratoga, NYRA sets the market and send out our post times in advance. Most tracks will react to NYRA's times, and the company works closely with Keeneland in the spring and the fall to provide race-day updates and ensure separation.

Another wrinkle to creating post times is ensuring coordination with the broadcasting schedule, which produces more than 800 hours of programming year round. Post times have to work within television windows and track partners for the duration of the programming. Dependent upon the time of year, NYRA works with Oaklawn Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Woodbine Racetrack, Monmouth Park, Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds Race Course, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and others.

Time required between races is another consideration. At Aqueduct, NYRA can comfortably run 28 minutes between races. Once racing moves to Belmont and Saratoga, additional time between races is required, given the layout of the facility and proximity of the jockeys room, as well as to accommodate post-race interviews with winning connections. The post times must work in concert with our wagering menu to give a little extra time for Pick Ns and also on marquee days with a large on-track crowd.

Once post times are created, they are circulated to an internal group consisting of representatives from NYRA's racing office, mutuels, and television departments for approval before being circulated to our simulcast partners.

NYRA's mutuels team compares our post times to several other tracks once an overnight is produced and identifies any adjustments that will need to be put out on race day morning. Our internal efforts are complemented by the external review of Equibase. A number of tracks communicate any changes to an Equibase scheduling team that then suggest changes to the others in order to avoid any overlap.

So, does it work?

Yes, for the most part. A review of 2019 off times (pre-pandemic) compared to any races within 5 minutes of NYRA races on either side of the off time yielded the following:

Aqueduct's meets (winter, spring, and fall) had 69 of its races (8%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 229 races from other tracks fell within this window.

Belmont meets (spring/summer, fall) had 99 of its races (13%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 409 races from other tracks fell within this window.

Saratoga had 68 of its races (17%) run within 5 minutes of others. A total of 253 races from other tracks fell within this window.

The results support that the increased racing during the warmer months makes it more difficult for tracks to avoid each other given the volume of races.

While it is not an apples-to-apples comparison, in that NYRA did not run every day of the year, there were just 891 races out of 36,000 in 2019 that were run within five minutes of any NYRA races. That is only two percent.

The takeaway? Trust the process. A lot of work goes into NYRA's post times and the entire industry benefits when scheduled properly.

Send your questions for Between The Hedges to betweenthehedges@nyrainc.com.

The post Between The Hedges: Determining Post Times appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New York Turf Writers Cup Renamed in Honor of Hall of Fame Trainer Jonathan Sheppard

The GI New York Turf Writers Cup steeplechase stakes has been renamed in honor of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, the New York Racing Association announced Friday.

The $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard for 4-year-olds and up going 2 3/8 miles is slated for Thursday, Aug. 19 during the summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.

“It seems fitting that one of the premier steeplechase stakes in the country is going to be named in honor of Jonathan Sheppard,” said Bill Gallo, Director of Racing for the National Steeplechase Association. “He has been the dominant force in American steeplechase racing for decades and has always represented the sport in a positive way, particularly at Saratoga, where his success has gained national attention. We thank NYRA and the New York Turf Writers for honoring Jonathan in this fashion.”

The 80-year-old Sheppard announced his retirement from American racing in early January. He capped an incredible 56-year racing career in which he was the leading National Steeplechase Association trainer 26 times, campaigning 15 Eclipse award winners over hurdles and flat ground.

Sheppard made an indelible mark on New York racing, winning at least one race at Saratoga for 47 consecutive years from 1969-2015. He was also the leading Saratoga trainer in 1984 and 1985. Fittingly, Sheppard earned a reputation for dominating the New York Turf Writers Cup, figuratively stamping his name on a race he won 15 times before the announcement that his name will literally be synonymous with the contest.

“Jonathan Sheppard's long and storied career, in particular his accomplishments at Saratoga Race Course, will be remembered for years to come,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “His decades of commitment and success within the sport make this a well-deserved honor. It's only fitting that he is celebrated with a stakes race at the Spa in light of his unprecedented streak of 47 years with at least one winner at Saratoga.”

The Ashwell, England native is the winningest trainer in U.S. jump racing-history and is one of only two trainers to win championships with both flat and jump horses. Equibase credits him with a career ledger of 3,426 wins with 3,099 runner-up efforts and 2,975 third-place finishes in 20,997 starts with earnings of more than $88 million.

In flat races, Sheppard produced impressive winners as well, with Informed Decision winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and Forever Together capturing the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf the year prior.

A 1990 Hall of Fame inductee, Sheppard continued building on a historic legacy for the next three decades. In his final year of training in 2020, Sheppard finished atop the NSA trainer standings, besting runner-up Jack Fisher, who had been the leading trainer nine years running.

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