US horse racing organisation the Jockey Club has agreed a multi-year rights deal with the Fox Sports division of the Fox network.
Starting in 2014, prominent graded stakes races from many of US horse racing’s best known tracks will be televised on Fox Sports 1, Fox’s new pay-television channel which launches on August 17.
The newly created package of nationally televised races consists of up to 10 broadcasts per year. Each broadcast includes two top stakes races featuring the leading horses in North America.
The agreement also includes international and Spanish-language rights, including the ability to air races on pay-television broadcaster Fox Deportes.
Jockey Club chairman Ogden Mills Phipps said: “Increasing the national television presence of thoroughbred racing continues to be a key component of our fan retention and development efforts under the America’s Best Racing banner, and it will be gratifying to see thoroughbred racing alongside Major League Baseball, college basketball, college football, Nascar, and UFC events on the new Fox Sports 1.”
The new race series will commence on Fox Sports 1 on February 9, 2014, from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida.