A spokesperson for the New York Racing Association said on July 10 that as of 5:30 p.m. there had been no movement in stalled contract negotiations with TVG/FanDuel and that the major pre-pay betting company would not be accepting bets on the July 11 opening day at the Saratoga Race Track.
TVG/FanDuel has been unable to process wagers on NYRA races since July 4 due to an inability to agree on the financial terms of a new betting contract.
The two sides held talks on Wednesday but failed to resolve the impasse.
“Despite NYRA’s best efforts, TVG/FanDuel remains unwilling to negotiate the terms of a new contract. As a result, pari-mutuel betting on the Summer Meet at Saratoga Race Course will not be available on TVG/FanDuel platforms when the meet opens on Thursday. As a nonprofit organization chartered by the State of New York, NYRA’s core mission is to conduct world-class Thoroughbred horse racing for the benefit of the state’s economy while providing horse owners and breeders the opportunity to compete for major prize money and prizes 24 hours a day. To accomplish that mission, NYRA will continue to work toward a fair resolution to this impasse,” said Pat McKenna, NYRA vice president of communications. “This has nothing to do with NYRA’s bottom line. Rather, it is about achieving fair compensation to support the trainers, breeders, owners and others who make horse racing possible in New York. Accordingly, NYRA has provided TVG/FanDuel with the exact same price as the price in effect under the previous contract in every state except New York.”
In response, Andrew Moore, general manager of racing at FanDuel Group, said TVG/FanDuel was fully prepared “for the event that we would not have Saratoga content.”
“This situation is not good for most people—us, NYRA, and the fans. In an era where people have more content than ever to bet on, it is suboptimal for the largest distributor of horse racing and sports betting content to not be able to provide NYRA content to its customer base. No one wins here, and we hope to be able to bring this content back to TVG and FanDuel Sportsbook customers soon. But the business terms must be reasonable, or we risk our ability to continue to make significant investments in marketing, promotion, and racing television,” Moore said. “As always, we will strive to provide our customers with the best possible experience with the content we have. The loss of Saratoga will be very disruptive to their experience. However, we are fully prepared for the possibility of the Saratoga content not being available. That was our expectation when we did not agree to the new terms proposed by NYRA. We are not seeking better terms than our previous agreement.”
