NYRA Expands Racing Broadcasts to Replace FanDuel TV's Departing Coverage

Tony Allevato has seen this movie before, just from the other side. The NYRA chief revenue officer and NYRA Bets president spent 14 years at TVG, rising to executive producer when the network launched in 1999, and now he is racing to fill the broadcast hole its successor just punched in the sport's visibility. FanDuel TV, which originated as TVG, announced March 27 a 20-month phase-out of the channel, which had offered daily national and international Thoroughbred racing since its inception. Over 100 jobs will be eliminated by November 2026.

NYRA announced plans this week to expand its horse racing broadcast efforts in the wake of that announcement. "If you're a horse racing fan that's 45 and under, you've literally only known the world in racing with a TVG or FanDuel TV in it," Allevato said. The urgency behind that statement drives everything NYRA is now scrambling to build.

The expansion runs along two tracks. NYRA is weighing options that include adding more tracks to its "America's Day At The Races" show and the possible creation of a separate digital channel to present races seven days a week. Currently, America's Day at the Races broadcasts across FS1, FS2, and FOX on live race days and streams free on YouTube, with an NYRA Bets account required to watch on NYRA.com. The show is hosted by Greg Wolf and Laffit Pincay, with a team that includes handicappers Andy Serling, Maggie Wolfendale, Richard Migliore, and Acacia Clement, among others.

The proposed digital show is envisioned along the lines of what the NFL has done with its RedZone product, with one or two commentators providing color as they switch between races approaching the gate. The idea is to deliver that coverage on advance-deposit wagering platforms, sportsbooks, and digital platforms in a format that allows outlets to include their own branding, as opposed to showcasing NYRA Bets, to encourage widespread use.

NYRA has worked with FOX since 2016, and Allevato acknowledged the partnership gives NYRA a critical head start: "It's a blow for racing but thankfully we have a great partner in FOX and we are not starting from scratch." That 10-year foundation matters enormously right now; FOX Sports took a 25% equity stake in NYRA Bets in 2021, tightening a commercial alignment that makes rapid broadcast expansion more feasible than it would be for any other racing organization attempting the same pivot.

FanDuel TV will reduce its workforce by about 60 percent at the end of June, after honoring commitments to Keeneland and Triple Crown coverage, with remaining employees continuing through the end of November. Those commitments create a narrow window before the production apparatus effectively collapses. Allevato acknowledged the human cost directly: "My heart goes out to the 100-plus employees there who were told on Friday that they would be out of work. Many of the people there now have worked there for a quarter-century."

The harder question is what happens to smaller tracks that have no FOX partnership to fall back on. Some tracks are currently under contract with FanDuel TV, which will delay adding them to the NYRA programming, while tracks like Oaklawn Park, Tampa Bay Downs, and Monmouth Park that have already been featured on America's Day at the Races are tied to NYRA race dates. For any track not already inside that ecosystem, the realistic prospect is a coverage blackout that no bettor or casual fan has a clean solution for yet. Allevato put it plainly: "One thing that's very clear is that the fans want something and the industry wants something. NYRA is not-for-profit and we want to be able to step in and help."

FanDuel/TVG handled $2.239 billion through the Oregon Racing Commission hub in 2025, a figure that underscores how much wagering infrastructure survives even as the broadcast side disappears. The betting pipes stay open; it is the storytelling around the sport that NYRA and FOX must now urgently rebuild.