FanDuel Named Title Sponsor of Breeders' Cup Mile
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Officials of Breeders' Cup and FanDuel Group announced Aug. 20 that FanDuel, America's premier gaming destination, will become the title sponsor of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships. In addition, two of FanDuel Group's major charity partners will be incorporated into its naming rights for this year's event—the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF and the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
The Breeders' Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious international events, consisting of 14 races and purses and awards totaling $35 million, is scheduled to be held on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. The World Championships will be televised live on NBC and NBCSN.
For several years, FanDuel subsidiary TVG, America's Horse Racing network, has partnered with the Jockeys' Guild's Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), on initiatives including an annual telethon, and with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, to raise awareness and funding for both organizations.
"We are excited that FanDuel will become the title sponsor of the Breeders' Cup Mile and thank them for their commitment to the World Championships," said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming. "Since announcing our multi-year agreement last year, we have enjoyed an outstanding relationship with FanDuel and TVG as they have expanded and strengthened their support of the Breeders' Cup and Thoroughbred racing."
"Building off an amazing start last year, FanDuel and TVG are looking forward to this year's Breeders' Cup and to working together to create new fans for horse racing," said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG. "We appreciate Breeders' Cup's and NBC Sports' cooperation in including our charity partners into the race names for this year. Both the PDJF and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance do so much to help provide care and resources for our athletes and we wanted to share the spotlight with them on two of our sport's biggest days."
In 2019, Breeders' Cup and FanDuel announced a comprehensive multi-year sponsorship agreement making TVG and FanDuel the official Wagering Partners of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. TVG will retain its title sponsorship of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which also was announced last year.
The collaboration also established TVG and FanDuel official partner status for four of its business units: Advanced-Deposit Wagering (TVG) as well as sports betting, daily fantasy sports and online casino, all of which operate under the FanDuel brand.
TVG and FanDuel will continue to receive official sponsor designation, commercial units and other promotional rights as part of NBC Sports' coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships and also will be the Presenting Partner of NBCSN's "Betting the Breeders' Cup" show, which will air multiple times during Breeders' Cup week and include complete handicapping and analysis of the World Championships. In another component of the partnership, FanDuel Group will promote the Breeders' Cup World Championships to its databases of Daily Fantasy and sports betting customers.
In January, FanDuel introduced FanDuel Racing, an advanced-deposit wagering service aimed at novice race fans, and began promoting it across its DFS platform. Prior to that, FanDuel had developed and introduced daily fantasy sports applications for horse racing.
The $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF is a Grade 1 race for 3-year-olds and older, which will be run at 1 mile on the Keeneland turf course on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Mile annually draws top flight international competition. This year, horses from South Africa, France, Great Britain, Japan and the U.S. already have qualified automatically for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile by winning races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.
The $2 million TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is a Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds, which will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the Keeneland main track as part of Breeders' Cup's Future Stars Friday program.