Breeders' Cup, FanDuel announce sponsorship deal

Breeders’ Cup and FanDuel, the gambling conglomerate that owns the account-wagering and horse racing broadcasting network TVG, have reached a sponsorship agreement that will give FanDuel and TVG broad promotional and broadcast abilities surrounding the two-day event, the companies announced Wednesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed in a release, and Breeders’ Cup declined to comment on the terms other than to characterize the agreement as “multi-year.”

Under the agreement, TVG will be the title sponsor of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Breeders’ Cup Mile, which are now held on separate days of the event. TVG also will produce the television broadcast that is sent by Breeders’ Cup to its simulcast outlets and to account-wagering companies, giving the company an opportunity to put its brand in front of customers across the United States.

The simulcast broadcast is produced independently of the broadcasts that appear on NBCSN and NBC, and it is traditionally more geared toward handicapping and betting. As part of the deal, TVG and FanDuel will receive commercial air time during the NBC broadcasts. The NBC broadcasts are part of a partnership deal with the network and Breeders’ Cup, with revenues accrued from commercial time and sponsorships allocated separately under a deal that expires in 2025.

FanDuel is the name of the company that emerged from a merger last year of FanDuel, a daily fantasy sports operator, and Paddy Power Betfair, itself the product of a merger between a traditional bookmaking company and a pioneering betting-exchange company. Betfair purchased TVG in 2009 as part of its desire to enter the U.S. betting market in the hopes that sports wagering would eventually become legalized in the United States.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting states from legalizing sports betting, leading to a number of states passing legislation to allow for the practice. It also led to a number of mergers and partnerships in the gambling marketplace as companies sought to capitalize on the developments.

As part of the Breeders’ Cup sponsorship agreement, TVG and FanDuel will be named “official partners” of the Breeders’ Cup for advanced-deposit wagering, sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and online casinos. The “official partner” designation will not preclude other wagering outlets from offering betting on Breeders’ Cup races or restrict those other platforms, according to a BC statement issued in response to questions.

In a press release, FanDuel said that it is working to develop daily fantasy sports contests for horse racing and “will promote Breeders’ Cup to its database of DFS players across the U.S.” Daily fantasy sports allow customers to draft lineups for sports contests in competition with other players for cash payouts. FanDuel said it has 8 million customers worldwide. The company also operates the most lucrative sports-betting location in New Jersey at the Meadowlands racetrack across the Hudson River from New York City.