Fans deprived

FanDuel account holders who are also fans of horseracing have been deprived of ability to watch races from the Belmont at Aqueduct on the Flutter-owned brand’s television platform after contract negotiations with the New York Racing Association (NYRA) stalled.

live TV coverage of the races has been blacked out

According to Bloodhorse, the contractual issues led the NYRA to axe all its content from FanDuel’s wagering platforms on Thursday. Until the dispute is settled, pari-mutuel betting on the NYRA-run races at Aqueduct is unavailable to FanDuel bettors, while live TV coverage of the races has been blacked out for viewers of the sportsbook’s TV channel once known as TVG.

While an existing FanDuel/NYRA contract ended Monday, the two parties have been trying to reach an agreement through Thursday. According to media reports, the NYRA said negotiations with FanDuel would continue, stating its goal was to increase “funds flowing to the sport and its stakeholders in New York.”

Industry support

In a statement, NYRA Chief Revenue Officer Tony Allevato said the overall health of the sport and the New York horse racing industry was a priority. He said NYRA would continue negotiations with FanDuel “to seek an equitable resolution so that our racing is widely available nationally.”

Key to Allevato’s statement was his assertion that NYRA’s racing content boosts the profits of out-of-state Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) brands like FanDuel.  

New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president Tina Bond concurred with NYRA, stating: “We staunchly agree that fair compensation for that investment is absolutely imperative.”

funds generated by ADWs carrying NYRA support breeding farms”

“The funds generated by ADWs carrying NYRA support breeding farms throughout the state, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with NYRA,” Bond added.

The rub for FanDuel is that the blackout comes one week ahead of NYRA’s prestigious Saratoga meet, a historically popular highlight of the US racing calendar. While it’s not unusual for racetracks and ADW brands to dispute contracts, the timing of the blackout might be more than just coincidence.

Playing hardball

According to Bloodhorse, “negotiations are often most contested when a racetrack is nearing an important race or race meet, creating rising demand.”

In response to NYRA, FanDuel fired back a statement saying it “cannot agree to new proposed terms that are substantially inconsistent with our prior agreements.”

FanDuel said while it hoped to have the NYRA content “available again soon,” it appreciates the content blackout “will be an inconvenience to our customers.” FanDuel added that it “will continue to make substantial investments in horse racing and we remain very committed to our track and horsemen partners.”