NYRA reaches sponsorship deal with DraftKings

The New York Racing Association has reached a sponsorship agreement with DraftKings that will make the sports-betting company an “official betting partner” of Saratoga Race Course and that track’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, as well as the presenting sponsor of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Aug. 24.

The agreement is an expansion of a separate, smaller sponsorship agreement between the two companies last year, when DraftKings was the presenting sponsor of the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.

Also under the agreement, DraftKings’ horseracing betting app, DK Horse, will be the presenting sponsor of the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes, to be held on June 7 at Saratoga as part of a four-day meet at the track to support the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes is being held at Saratoga this year while NYRA’s Belmont Park downstate is being renovated.

Signage for DraftKings and DK Horse will be displayed throughout Saratoga during the Belmont Stakes meet and the Saratoga summer meet, which runs from July 11 to Sept. 2.

“Bringing DraftKings and DK Horse back to Saratoga for a second consecutive year is a tremendous honor,” said Christopher Cipolla, the general manager for horseracing at DraftKings. “Having our branding present throughout the summer at one of the most beautiful and well attended racetracks in all of the world and being named the presenting sponsor of this year’s Travers and Acorn further cements our commitment to the sport of horse racing.”

NYRA operates its own betting app, NYRA Bets, and it has agreements with several other sports-betting operators to provide bet-processing services for their racing operations, including BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook.

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