A panel discussion at last week’s Global Symposium on racing, produced by the University of Arizona’ Race Track Industry Program, detailed how sports betting has an opportunity to boost and revive the horse racing industry.
“When I talk about the new customer opportunity for horse racing, FanDuel Sportsbook had more active customers in November than (horse racing advance-deposit wagering platform) TVG has had in 22 years,” said Andrew Moore, vice president of racing at FanDuel and TVG. “This is a huge opportunity for horse racing… We’re looking to put horse racing into sports customers’ worlds, getting them betting on horse racing, and bringing a whole new customer set to the sport. We’re only at the tip of the iceberg.”
Moore displayed in a slide during his presentation that FanDuel’s sports betting customers are younger than those on TVG’s platform, suggesting a new demographic to replace the aging racing enthusiast. The numbers show that 73 percent of online sportsbook customers are age 40 or younger.
“The sportsbook customer is a brand new customer,” Moore said. “They’re not being exposed to horse racing properly right now.… For (horse racing) to tap into the (sports betting) ecosystem is hugely valuable and a huge opportunity.”
