FanDuel to partner with Fairmount on renovations, sportsbook

FanDuel, the fantasy-sports and gambling company that shares a parent company with TVG, has reached a deal to provide money to renovate Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Ill., and open a sportsbook at the track, the two companies announced on Monday.

The agreement will allow FanDuel to capitalize on the location of Fairmount Park, which sits just over the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. Sports betting is legal in Illinois, while it remains prohibited in Missouri. St. Louis is Missouri’s largest metropolitan area.

Fairmount Park will be renamed FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack as part of the deal.

Also as part of the agreement, FanDuel said that it has agreed to fund the reviving of the St. Louis Derby, providing a $250,000 purse for the race. The St. Louis Derby has not been held since 2006, but it was a regular fixture of the 95-year-old track until it was dropped.

Fairmount has been owned by a partnership called William Stiritz and Associates since 2000. The track recently received a casino license from Illinois and has been approved for 56 live race dates in 2021.

FanDuel’s plans call for the sportsbook at the track to open early in 2021.