Upon the recent news that FanDuel plans to wind down and then discontinue its racing channel, FanDuel TV, I first thought of all the talented people facing the prospect of losing their jobs.
Years ago, I went through something similar when Thoroughbred Times declared bankruptcy. Fortunately, in that case, many of the talented people there landed on their feet and continue to work in important industry roles. Let's hope for the same for the many dedicated employees of FanDuel TV who brought us races from around the country for more than a quarter of a century.
While those employees could soon face personal economic challenges, the racing industry will face a number of potential impacts as it loses one of its best platforms to reach new fans and returning fans. The channel reaches some 30 million people.
READ: FanDuel's Television Phase Out Shocks Racing Industry
Originally known as TVG and rebranded as FanDuel TV in 2022, the racing channel and its TVG.com/FanDuel Racing advance-deposit wagering platform have enjoyed a number of success stories on the marketing front. While the ADW sites continue, it will be interesting to see if there's handle loss to the sites—as well as other ADW sites—as the racing channel initially sees cutbacks of on-air personalities beginning after this year's Triple Crown and then, especially, after its complete exit planned for 2027.
READ: TVG Rebranded as FanDuel TV, Sports Betting Added
It's a pretty safe bet that when the racing channel goes away, the tracks that have been regularly featured will see decreased handle if they don't find a new path for their signals. TVG/FanDuel documented numerous times over the years that tracks added to their lineup enjoyed increased handle.
On the bright side, corporate owner Flutter Entertainment did provide some amount of time for the changes to take hold. The racing industry will need to come up with alternatives in that time.
I would think some of those options would include an increased racing presence on the FOX Sports platforms, a new racing channel, or an increased streaming presence on platforms such as YouTube or NetFlix. In recent years, such streaming platforms have seen the attraction of live sports.
While Flutter plans to continue FanDuel's ADW platforms, I have to believe those ADW outlets will take a handle hit as well. The racing channel provided a steady platform to promote the ADW sites and the various wagering specials it offered. A loss in handle for those platforms would impact the industry overall.
In 2025, about $2.24 billion was wagered through TVG.com/FanDuel Racing. That is about 19% of all the pari-mutuel handle in North America last year. Rounding up a bit, it's one out of every five pari-mutuel dollars wagered. If those ADW platforms see a decline after FanDuel TV winds down and is removed, it will impact the industry overall.
Furthermore, it's safe to say other ADW platforms also could face dips in handle as there are plenty of FanDuel TV viewers who wager on the races it presents through other ADW platforms. If the races aren't readily available to view, many fans will likely lose interest.
In recent years, FanDuel TV racing helped tracks coordinate start times for races to offer a more enjoyable experience for at-home players. Those efforts ensure races stay off the top of one another while providing fairly constant action—as opposed to long stretches without a race.
Besides providing access to racing, FanDuel TV also covered some of racing's biggest sales and events and provided a platform for the sport's many charities to get their word out. Losing those opportunities will also be felt by the industry.
In recent years, FanDuel was the first sports betting app to offer a shared wallet for fans who wished to place fixed-odds wagers on sports as well as pari-mutuel wagers on horses. The sports betting app continues to prominently feature a link to the FanDuel Racing app to place pari-mutuel wagers on sports.
As the TVG.com and FanDuel Racing ADW sites are not going away, hopefully this cross-marketing approach with the apps continues to bring sports bettors over to racing. Unfortunately, those sports bettors will no longer happen upon racing through FanDuel TV.
