The New York Racing Association entered a betting dispute Wednesday with Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI).
As a result, pari-mutuel wagering and live video on NYRA tracks will be unavailable online to customers of the CDI-owned TwinSpires app or at racetracks and sportsbooks owned by CDI.
“In its role as a not-for-profit corporation franchised by New York State, NYRA’s mission is to conduct world-class racing for the benefit of the state’s economy while growing the sport and creating opportunities for horsemen and breeders to compete for robust purses throughout the year,” the NYRA asserted in a press release.
The NYRA claims it's seeking new financial terms from TwinSpires that more closely resemble those currently in place with all national ADW (advance deposit wagering) platforms offering NYRA content.
In a separate press release, CDI called NYRA’s request “unreasonable," noting that horse betting content from Saratoga Race Course was now unavailable on the CDI-owned TwinSpires app.
NYRA Bets, the racing association’s ADW platform, and its affiliates also removed several CDI-owned racetracks, including Ellis Park, Colonial Downs, Presque Isle, Louisiana Downs, and Ocean Downs.
Bill Cartanjen, CEO of CDI, did not mince words in his company’s response:
“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.
"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.”
Churchill Downs Incorporated Statement on
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) July 31, 2024
Contract Impasse with NYRA
After failure to reach agreement on updated and unreasonable terms, the New York Racing Association (“NYRA”) made the decision to cut off racing content from Churchill Downs Incorporated’s (“CDI”) online…
Fool me once…
Cartanjen’s accusation is a direct reference to the racing association pulling the plug on FanDuelTV and other online wagering content earlier this month, just one week before the highly popular Saratoga meet began.
The NYRA received public acknowledgments of support from the leaders of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders for that move.
“NYRA must prioritize the overall health of the sport and broader industry here in New York and we will continue negotiations to seek an equitable resolution so that our racing is widely available nationally,” said NYRA chief revenue officer Tony Allevato at the time.
It’s unclear which party will win from these disputes, but unfortunately, the greater horse racing industry is losing overall from its content being restricted on such prominent platforms.
