Fox Sports and the New York Racing Association expanded their current rights pact, making the 21st Century Fox-owned unit the national TV home for the league’s races from Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. The agreement marks the latest Fox foray to snap up live sports rights as its parent company gears up to sell the bulk of its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. in 2019.
Under terms of the deal, Fox will televise 500 hours of NYRA racing in 2019, including including coverage of nearly every race day at Belmont and Saratoga, then expand to more than 600 hours starting in 2020. NYRA and Fox had previously agreed to air more than more than 100 hours of NYRA coverage on the Fox Sports 2 cable network in 2018.
Fox is “looking forward to presenting more horse racing on a national stage than ever before,” said Michael Mulvihill, executive vice president of league operations, research and strategy for Fox Sports, in a prepared statement. “With this commitment, Fox Sports has taken the lead in developing content in the fast-growing area of sports gaming by expanding our relationship with the most prestigious name in horse racing, the New York Racing Association.”
