Fixed-Odds Horse Racing Wagering Debuts in Colorado

Fixed-odds horse racing wagering has been approved in Colorado. The deal was forged between SIS Content Services, part of the SIS (Sports Information Services) Group, and long-time operator partner bet365 to deliver its global horse racing content to bettors in Colorado.

The approval of horse racing fixed-odds wagering on Colorado sportsbooks is intended to attract a wider range of casual bettors, who will be offered the same type of betting as all other sports.

SIS offers a horse racing vast portfolio of international and domestic events, including the upcoming Saudi Cup Day Feb. 24 and Dubai World Cup meeting Mar. 30. Additionally, year-round racing is available from 14 countries, including Ireland, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States.

“This is a great first step in expanding the horse racing audience and I commend the Colorado horse racing stakeholders, Colorado Division of Gaming and bet365 for their vision and support,” said Michele Fischer, Vice President, SIS Content Services. “Horse racing provides sportsbooks with exciting year-round 24/7 content throughout the world. It will take time in the US, but I expect that more sports wagering operators and states will include horse racing on their sports catalogs.”

The SIS platform also includes live-streamed video with betting triggers, race day data, and an extensive range of markets and odds prices.

Shannon Ruston, Executive Director of Operations & Racing at Bally's Arapahoe Park, said: “We are thrilled to be able to put horse racing on Colorado sportsbooks for fixed-odds wagering. Working with SIS, we crafted a commercial framework that benefits local racing, while giving sportsbooks access to thousands of races. Our belief is that this development will secure a better future not only for Arapahoe Park, but also for the racing ecosystem as a whole in Colorado.”

For more information, click here.

The post Fixed-Odds Horse Racing Wagering Debuts in Colorado appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Chelmsford Signs Media Rights Extension, Becomes RMG Member

New long-term media rights extensions were completed between Chelmsford City Racecourse, Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG), with the course becoming a member racecourse of RMG.

All betting and media rights across retail and digital channels are covered under the agreement, with racing continuing to be shown on the Racing TV channel and in betting shops via the SIS service. The Coursetrack system will also be utilised in order to provide live, in-race timing information at the Essex course, which is set to become the first venue in Britain to stage both turf and all-weather racing under floodlights. Substantial capital improvements are also planned, including an £85-million multipurpose grandstand.

Director of racing, Neil Graham said, “We are looking forward to working closely with SIS and RMG to strengthen our existing racing programme and to work on new initiatives. These deals give us the certainty by supporting ambitions for the racecourse to be bolder and more ambitious in its plans going forward.”

The post Chelmsford Signs Media Rights Extension, Becomes RMG Member appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Media Rights Arrangements Unanimously Approved For 21 Of The Association Of Irish Racecourses By HRI Board

The new media rights arrangements for 21 of the 26 Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) was unanimously approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Friday.

This new agreement is for a period of five years beginning in 2024.The HRI Board welcomed the unanimous approval of the AIR Board for this deal and the authorisation for AIR to conclude contractual arrangements for 21 of its 26 member racecourses. The completion of the sale of the media rights for 21 racecourses as well as HRI's data rights for all fixtures will now be progressed in timely fashion. The United Irish Racecourses (UIR), comprised of Kilbeggan, Limerick, Roscommon, Sligo and Thurles rejected the new media rights deal earlier this week. HRI will be writing to the quintet of UIR racecourses separately.

Suzanne Eade, CEO of HRI, said in a statement, “To maximise the value of the media rights on behalf of racecourses and the industry, the HRI media rights committee engaged experts to provide a comprehensive valuation of the rights of Irish racing and to assist with the production of an extensive invitation to tender. While the process has been lengthy, the benefits will be significant as it has resulted in new media rights arrangements, approved today by the HRI Board, which represent an extremely positive deal for all Irish racecourses.

“Based on future growth projections, it is hoped that the total value [of Irish media rights] could grow by an estimated further 50% by 2028.

“The outcome has been a long-term deal which will underpin the financial viability of racecourses until at least 2028 and has been unanimously approved by the media rights committee, the board of HRI and the board of AIR.

“Whilst the terms of the media rights arrangements cannot be revealed for confidentiality reasons, the Joint Bid by Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) clearly offered the best financial proposition for Irish racing media rights across all the packages on offer, which was independently validated by an expert third party.

“This will see the overall percentage of the total revenues received by racecourses growing progressively over the next five years. The income flowing to racecourses will be distributed on an open, transparent and equitable basis, with each racecourse receiving revenues largely derived from the betting turnover on their respective individual fixtures.

“There are significant safeguards built into the new arrangements for racecourses with each venue guaranteed its 2022 average per race income in 2024. An easing-in provision has also been included for the first three years of the new deal to assist smaller racecourses as the model moves to a turnover basis. Virtually all racecourses are forecast to achieve higher revenues in 2025 than at present.

“HRI is extremely concerned that confidential information pertaining to the existing media rights arrangements appears to have been disclosed in breach of the strict confidentiality terms within the existing contract. It is deeply regrettable that confidential and commercially sensitive information within the proposed contractual arrangements for the future rights also appears to have been disclosed. HRI will continue to respect the confidential basis on which the bids were made.

“Much has been said in the media of the HRI earnings in this media rights agreement but without acknowledging that the earnings go directly back to developing the industry, assisting racecourses with capital development grants, paying for other racecourse supports and contributing to the funding of additional fixtures which provide opportunities for owners, trainers, jockeys and all industry participants. HRI has always been conscious of the role it plays in the industry and has consistently listened and reacted to the concerns of racecourses of every size in consecutive rights negotiations.”

To read Eade's full statement, please click here.

The post Media Rights Arrangements Unanimously Approved For 21 Of The Association Of Irish Racecourses By HRI Board appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Five Irish Tracks Reject Media Rights Deal

For the first time in history, Irish racing looks set to have two separate providers of pictures after five racecourses rejected a media rights deal on Tuesday.

At a groundbreaking general meeting of the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) held at the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge, the five members of the United Irish Racecourses (UIR) voted against the five-year deal worth €47 million.

That means that the five tracks–Kilbeggan, Limerick, Roscommon, Sligo and Thurles–are now free to negotiate their own separate deal, presumably with Arena Racing Company, which could pave the way for Irish racing to return to Sky Sports Racing in 2024. 

The current deal, which is due to expire at the end of this year, is with Sports Information Services [SIS] and Racecourse Media Group, which sees all Irish racing broadcast on RTV. 

It is understood that UIR received “an unsolicited offer” of €100,000 per fixture from Arc last year, but the five tracks now have to request HRI's media rights committee to negotiate another contract for them 

The new deal with SIS and RMG was given “preferred bidder” status last year by the Media Rights Committee, which consists of five executives from AIR and Horse Racing Ireland. 

However, the five tracks expressed their dissatisfaction with the deal back in January and formed UIR. The discontent stems from how the media rights are distributed by HRI and how the funding model favours the bigger tracks. 

Conor O'Neill, chairman of HRI's media rights committee, focused on the positives of the deal on Tuesday.

He said, “It's a fantastic deal and I'm delighted for the 21 racecourses who have signed up to secure it today. I would like to thank the board of AIR and our CEO Paul Hensey for their hard work and support. I would also like to especially thank our former CEO Paddy Walsh who has worked tirelessly on achieving the best possible deal for our members and the HRI media rights committee whose commitment has been extraordinary throughout the entire process.”

O'Neill added, “Although it's disappointing that it was not approved by all, today is a very positive day for the future of Irish racing, let's not take away from that. I look forward to continuing our partnership with SIS and RMG for the overwhelming majority of Irish racecourses, subject to the approval by the HRI board on Friday.”

The post Five Irish Tracks Reject Media Rights Deal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights