NYRA, Fox Sports reach TV deal

Network to air nearly all races at Saratoga, Belmont next 2 years

If you can’t get to Belmont Park or Saratoga Race Course, the New York Racing Association and Fox Sports have you covered. The two companies announced Thursday a deal that will have nearly every racing card at the two NYRA tracks on the Fox Sports networks for at least the next two years.

In 2019, Fox Sports is scheduled to televise 500 hours of NYRA racing, including nearly every race day at Belmont and Saratoga. In 2020, that number is expected to expand to 600 hours. In 2018, there were more than 100 hours of NYRA coverage on FS2.

NYRA and Fox began their partnership in 2016 around the “Saratoga Live” show and that offered 80 hours of live Spa coverage on FS2.

“This is a transformative agreement between NYRA and Fox Sports that will dramatically expand national television coverage of the best thoroughbred racing in the country,” NYRA president and CEO Chris Kay said in a statement. “With increased competition for wagering dollars, we recognize the importance of capturing the attention of sports fans and bettors using high quality television production to provide the best coverage and racing analysis available anywhere today.”

The television shows will continue to be produced by NYRA.

The NYRA races will continue to be broadcast on horse racing station TVG and on regional networks like MSG. In addition, the races will continue to be shown on the OTB station.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.