Round Table: Applying Data-Driven Decisions to Racing

At its core horse racing is about the equine athletes, but the foundation that supports every aspect of the sport is data. But, while racing was decades ahead in the collection of information that breeders and horseplayers rely on, critical business decisions are not necessarily as data-driven as in other sports and business enterprises.

Speaking at the 71st Annual Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing Aug. 3 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., NFL director of football data and analytics Michael Lopez described the way it's done for America's dominant sport in terms of popularity and revenue.  

"Our team sits as part of a larger, centralized data and analytics function at the league office, where we work in conjunction with analytics teams supporting verticals such as fan, ticketing, health and safety, and viewership," Lopez said. "We're in part a service group—answering questions asked of us—and in part a research group, developing and answering long-term questions that will help answer questions foundational to league strategy."

Lopez directs research related to everything from rules changes (changes in the overtime format or how a referee spots a fair catch) to optimizing scheduling for both economics and competitiveness. Their recommendations weigh the impact on key priorities of the league office: competitiveness, officiating, health and safety, pace of play, simplicity, and tradition.

"For horse racing, the corollaries are plenty," Lopez said. "Trainers make these choices day after day, but for the sport itself, rules around racing timelines, the Triple Crown schedule, shipping east, west, or overseas, are all choices that can be supplemented with data and analytics, and more broadly, relate to policies that are set by league officials."

Of course, horse racing doesn't have league officials, which makes widespread implementation of any good idea a years-long slog that inevitably leaves the sport behind the times. 

The Round Table annually features speakers from outside the sport to offer fresh perspectives on what is and is not working in racing. This year's slate also included FOX Sports broadcaster Lindsay Czarniak, who boasts 195,000 Instagram followers and 156,000 on X. She recommended that the industry push behind-the-scenes views and access. Her most popular social media posts have been from the sidelines of NFL games. 

"If we're looking at how folks follow along on social media, the posts I have done in other sports that are most well-received are tied to feeling like they are there," Czarniak said.

The NASCAR studio host, football sideline reporter, and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor is the daughter of longtime sportswriter and editor Chet Czarniak, who covered horse racing for USA Today. Through a partnership with America's Best Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds, Czarniak and her father became "co-owners" of Jace's Road in advance of the Kentucky Derby, helping to promote the sport to her mainstream fanbase. The cause was furthered by her husband, Today host Craig Melvin, who joined on the journey. 

"I've covered Super Bowls, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, World Series, but what I felt during my experience at the Derby was almost indescribable," Czarniak said.

Among her tips for racing's marketers and social media coordinators was to keep their posts authentic. 

"(Fans) have so many options, there is very little patience for anything that doesn't seem real or right," she said. 

While Czarniak likes to keep her social media positive, she has plenty of experience with difficult subjects and compared reporting on catastrophic injuries at the track with concussions in football. 

"It's hard to watch; it's hard to swallow," she said. "It brings up questions. But we know—because we can get the information about what players are wearing when they take the field—that they are protected. It's their choice. Since horses don't have that choice, being upfront and sharing the lengths taken to protect them is key." 

Note: The Jockey Club is a majority owner of BloodHorse.