Kentucky Downs and EquiLottery enter broadcast rights agreement
EquiLottery and Ellis Park have entered into a broadcast rights agreement that will allow races from the Henderson, Kentucky racetrack to be utilized in conjunction with EquiLottery’s lottery game based on the results of live horse racing. This agreement marks the second such arrangement with a Kentucky racetrack and comes on the heels of a recent endorsement of the product from the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA).
“I was first approached about this product six years ago when it was in a very early development stage,” said Ellis Park Owner and President Ron Geary. “As someone who has had business startup success, it’s exciting when you get to watch another entrepreneur take a seedling of an idea and turn it into a real, workable product, especially in your home state. Ellis Park is proud to stand with Brad Cummings and the entire EquiLottery team and we look forward to watching this exciting opportunity for horse racing come to fruition. With this product, we see nothing but upside for the racing industry in Kentucky and beyond.”
Ellis Park joins in-state racetrack Kentucky Downs along with Penn National’s Charles Town Races and Eldorado Resorts’ Mountaineer Park in West Virginia as early adopters of EquiLottery. As with other such agreements, Ellis Park will make their daily race video available for streaming through the EquiLottery mobile app in exchange for a broadcast rights fee. This fee will be split between the racetrack and purse funds.
“It’s a real pleasure to be working with Ron and his team at Ellis Park,” said EquiLott
ery Founder and CEO Brad Cummings. “When starting a business in Kentucky, you quickly become aware of what Ron has done to help build successful businesses and create good-paying jobs in this state. So to have his backing as we build out the vision for EquiLottery is a great honor. Every day our momentum gets stronger and we get closer to delivering a product we believe will do great things for the sport of horse racing while being able to send more Kentucky students to Kentucky universities through a bevy of successful in-state scholarship programs.”
Since its public announcement over the summer of 2014, EquiLottery has worked diligently to develop its lottery product based on the results of live horse racing. During that time, this innovative company has structured agreements with lottery industry leader IGT Global Solutions and tote system leader AmTote International to be able to deliver a cohesive lottery experience for state lotteries and their players. EquiLottery is also in development on its IOS and Android mobile app which will allow players features such as watching races live and on replay, scanning tickets and setting push notifications for upcoming races all from the convenience of their mobile devices.