Op/Ed: The King of Sports

Throughout the nation, the horse racing industry is under both increased scrutiny and pressure to reduce the number of equine fatalities and breakdowns. While progress has been made at many tracks, in recent years, i.e. Turfway, Woodbine, Golden Gate, and Gulfstream, there is less of a tolerance than ever for equine injuries and fatalities, as doping scandals have marred our most cherished events and as advocates and animal rights groups such as PETA have gained momentum.

Horse racing is under real pressure to enhance safety, with many critics seeking to outright abolish the sport. But it would be a mistake to believe that this conversation is limited to traditional critics or fringe voices. The attacks on our sport are gaining wider support and becoming more strategic. In October 2021, the San Diego Democratic Party passed a resolution calling to ban gambling on state-sponsored horse races in California. The group said they have both a moral and financial obligation to phase it out. Just weeks ago in New York, horse racing opponents in the state legislature challenged the economic benefits of the industry and proposed ending critical state subsidies. Understand, their goal is to eliminate the sport, not through an outright ban but by starving it of revenues.

Our industry has taken steps toward better regulation through the adoption of such initiatives as the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act, but high-profile scandals and equine deaths remain weekly headlines. As we have witnessed in these turbulent times, the pace of change in our world is accelerating, not just technologically, but socially. The world can and does literally change overnight. Dating back to the colonial era, horse racing, America's oldest sport, is more at risk than ever of being relegated to the dustbin of history.

It is time for bold action to address horse safety. It is long overdue. And why shouldn't we do what we can to secure the health and safety of the horses we love; that touch our very soul. It is time we implemented a program to transition dirt tracks to safer synthetic surfaces. Synthetic tracks are indisputably safer and yet instead of growing in use, they have been phased out over recent years. Del Mar, Keeneland and Santa Anita, early adopters of synthetic surfaces, have all converted back to dirt and since then have all experienced a rise in equine injuries.

Industry leaders must make this a priority. If we don't get our head out of the sand and take action, I fear the end of our sport.  Ironically, COVID and the complete shutdown of almost all sports for a period of time gave our industry an opportunity to shine. Sports fans old and new, locked down at home, found refuge in horse racing, engaging more tracks here at home and around the world. The fact is with the wide adoption of mobile betting, our industry is poised for an economic and popular renaissance. Horse racing and its wide availability is becoming an essential part of the offerings that sustain mobile betting. Industry leaders are increasingly integrating horse racing into their mobile sports betting platforms. It is the future of our sport, but to realize this revival we must first save it.

Which brings us to our logical conclusion. Churchill Downs Incorporated, a publicly traded company that in addition to owning Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, also owns multiple tracks, including Fair Grounds and Turfway Park, as well as several casinos, and TwinSpires, a leading mobile betting app. TwinSpires players in some jurisdictions are able to bet on professional sports, including the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and PGA, as well as collegiate sports and events from around the world–as well as horse racing. Churchill Downs Inc.–listed on the New York Stock Exchange–relies upon the content generated by a healthy racing industry and as such their board of directors and officers must recognize their responsibility to take the lead in advancing this cause and the overall cause of horse safety. This is not some altruistic plea. Churchill Downs's shareholders have the most to gain and everything to lose.

Kentucky is the economic and emotional epicenter of horse racing in America. Its legendary farms and breeders are a part of the folklore of our sport. The Kentucky Derby is the most famous and important horse race in the world. But there is a long-held cultural and business resistance to synthetic tracks in Kentucky.  It makes sense. Like agriculture, the sport of horse racing is elementally tied to the earth. For a sport as old as America, steeped in our agrarian roots and rich in history and tradition, it is easy to understand why change is difficult. But change we must, and Churchill Downs Corporation, an entity synonymous with the most glorious of horse racing traditions, must lead the way. We're the King of Sports. Let's keep it that way.

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Derby, Oaks Workouts Open to Public

Between Saturday, Apr. 23 and Wednesday, May 4, Churchill Downs will be open free-of-charge daily from 7-10 a.m. so visitors can watch GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks hopefuls train. Beginning Saturday, there will be an exclusive training window for Derby and Oaks participants only from 7:30-7:45 a.m. Derby horses will use yellow saddle towels, and Oaks contenders will bear pink saddle towels.

Visitors should enter the track through the Paddock Gate and can park for free in White Lot. Morning workouts can be viewed between Sections 115-117 of the grandstand. Kentucky Derby Morning Works presented by TwinSpires.com will begin Monday and air on www.kentuckyderby.com/works, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Fans in attendance will be able to watch the show on the track's Big Board and infield televisions.

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CDI to Abandon Online Sports Betting

Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), said during a quarterly conference call with investors Feb. 24 that after only a brief foray into online sports betting, the gaming corporation plans to phase out operating in that sector by mid-2022.

“When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting in May of 2018, we had high hopes for the potential to build a profitable business in this space,” Carstanjen said. “Our initial strategy was to leverage a variable cost technology model and be disciplined in our marketing spend with a focus on bottom-line profitability as states legalized online sports wagering and iGaming.

“We have profitable retail sports books in four of our casinos,” Carstanjen said. “However, the online sports betting and online casino space is highly competitive with an ever-increasing number of participants that the states have licensed. Many are pursuing maximum market share in every state with limited regard for short-term or potentially even long-term profitability.

“Because we do not see for us a path in which this business model delivers predictable and acceptable margins for at least several years, if ever, we have decided to exit the business-to-customer online sports betting and iGaming space over the next six months…

“We are always committed to building long-term value for our shareholders. And consistent with this commitment, when we see that an investment is not progressing as we had planned, we will redeploy the resources and capital to other growth projects or return the capital to our shareholders,” Carstanjen said. “We have proven with our past decisions that we are willing to walk away from businesses where we do not see a secure enough path to consistent profitable growth with an acceptable return for our shareholders.”

The Thoroughbred industry is painfully aware of the gaming corporation's previous decisions to abandon aspects of its business. Under CDI's stewardship, horse racing has ceased over the past decade at Hollywood Park in California and Calder Race Course in Florida. A sale is in currently the works to turn historic Arlington International Racecourse near Chicago into a football stadium.

CDI currently owns four active Thoroughbred tracks (Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Fair Grounds and Presque Isle Downs). Because of its recent history of shuttering racetracks, an announcement by CDI earlier this week that it intended to acquire Colonial Downs and its Virginia gaming properties drew widespread social media chatter among racing industry participants and fans, with skepticism and concerns for Colonial's future far outnumbering comments that considered the deal to be a positive one for the sport.

“This isn't the result we wanted when we started [online sports betting] back in late 2018, but it is the prudent next step forward for our company,” Carstanjen said. “We remain absolutely committed and excited about TwinSpires Horse Racing as its top line, bottom line, and margins continue to demonstrate that this is a special online business with a sustainable, scalable and unique business model that delivers profitable growth today just as it has since we started the business well over a decade ago.”

At a later point in the call when investment analysis were permitted to ask questions, Carstanjen responded this way to one query about the decision to exit online sports betting:

“[G]ambling ultimately is a margin-driven business, and you have to set up your teams and you have to set up your processes to guarantee that you can drive margins. We can do that with TwinSpires Horse Racing, but we just don't see that for us in the broader online segment. So, we'll keep watching that business over time. We'll watch the others that are in it. And we'll see where the future takes that space.”

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CDI Names Murr President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming

Churchill Downs Incorporated named Ben Murr as the new President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming. In this role, he will be responsible for the overall strategy and operations of these businesses.

During his 14 years with CDI, he has served in multiple leadership roles including President of United Tote, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and, most recently, as interim President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming.

Prior to joining CDI, Murr worked in information technology leadership roles at General Electric. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from Bellarmine University.

“During his tenure with CDI, Ben has been an important leader in the growth across our operations,” said Carstanjen. “He has been a key player throughout the extensive changes in our Company over the last 14 years and will continue to move our TwinSpires and Online businesses forward.”

“I've been heavily involved with TwinSpires and our Online Gaming operations throughout my tenure at CDI” said Murr. “I am passionate about these businesses and believe strongly in their future growth potential and strategic importance for CDI.”

Murr will remain a Senior Vice President of CDI in addition to his responsibilities as President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming. Murr's promotion is effective immediately. CDI will move quickly to fill the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer role.

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