DraftKings and Churchill Downs Partner to Release DK HORSE

Churchill Downs, a leader in the Horse betting industry, has recently formed a new partnership, this time with DraftKings. This multi-year agreement will provide sports betting fans the opportunity to engage in pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing in one stand-alone app, DK HORSE. These leaders in the industry collaborating and combining their expertise paves a way for other mobile pari-mutuel horse wagering apps.

“We believe the depth and quality of our online offering through TwinSpires is unmatched in horse racing,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI). “We are excited to establish this relationship with DraftKings and to deliver a full end-to-end white label ADW solution that will introduce their significant base of sports betting customers to horse racing wagering.”

Horse racing wagering relies on a system in which you bet on the horse you believe will win the race. All wagers are combined into one pool of bets before the race begins. After the operators take their cut of the prize money, the winnings are divided among any bettors who selected the correct winner! This form of wagering is called pari-mutuel betting and is attractive for both bettors and operators since the house always receives a profit, and multiple bettors can win the jackpot. 

Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW)

TwinSpires, CDI’s subsidiary, is the market-leading company for online horse racing wagering platforms in the US. The new partnership will be Churchill’s second deal with TwinSpires B2B horse racing following their deal with FanDuel. 

The stand-alone branded app will require customers to sign up and deposit in a separate account from their other DraftKings sports betting or online casino mobile apps. Essentially, this provides access to twinspires.com through the DraftKings site through what is being called a “white label” interface. 

With that being said, DraftKings has every intention to integrate DK HORSE into the DraftKings product Suite. They do plan to release more information on this at a later date. 

This new partnership will allow Draftkings to stay on par with rival FanDuel, bringing horse racing wagering into the broad spectrum of existing platforms that DraftKings has to offer. 

“We are excited to collaborate with Churchill Downs Incorporated, not only to give our existing customers an opportunity to engage with pari-mutuel horse wagering but also to acquire new customers efficiently during marquee horse racing moments,” says Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings. “Due to the structure of the agreement, we expect this new product offering to be immediately profitable.”

This new partnership with CDI and DraftKings is a win-win for both companies.

Churchill Downs Expanding TwinSpires Audience

FanDuel owns the horse racing network and account-wagering operation known as FanDuel TV (previously TVG). In September, Churchill reached an agreement with FanDuel that provides the company with live television broadcasting rights (this excludes streaming rights).

CDI’s new partnership with DraftKings allows its TwinSpires audience to grow massively. With DraftKings’ existing base of customers, this partnership is opening up a whole new door to the market Churchill Downs is able to reach with the addition of DK HORSE. 

“We know there are a lot more casual fans out there than there are more serious fans,” said Robbins. “I do think this is a much bigger opportunity and better overall for the company.”

Last year, TwinSpires decided to shift their focus solely on horse racing, concluding their online sports betting site. TwinSpires obtaining these contracts with FanDuel and DraftKings maximizes their audience base and allows the company to reach more fans through TV broadcasting and their various mobile platforms. 

Mac Daniel is a Michigan native and freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: playonlinemichigan.com