Fan-Development Initiatives Highlight Jockey Club Round Table Discussion

Several of the key issues facing the industry–owner retention, the foal crop, the marketing of horse racing to new and existing fans, and the importance of regional markets like Maryland, highlighted the 2026 Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing, but the issue of fan development took center stage. The annual event was held at the Saratoga Springs City Center in Saratoga, New York.

Dobson Gives Opening, Closing Remarks

After taking the helm as chairman one year and one day before the 2026 Round Table, Everett Dobson delivered the Round Table's opening and closing remarks. He stressed the day's central theme, fan development.

“Every initiative ties back to that single idea of fan engagement, because before any of us were in this room, we were fans,” he said. “That's what brought us here. That's what keeps us here. That's what's going to take us to the next level.”

Everett Dobson | The Jockey Club

He returned to the issue of genetic diversity, noting that the decline in the number of stallions is outpacing the decline in mares. He announced that The Jockey Club would be introducing an SNP Analysis to measure shared DNA to allow the breeder or buyer to better understand the genetic makeup of a stallion, mare, or prospective foal. He said that the tool would be available to breeders sometime this winter.

In noting the dissolution of FanDuel TV, he said that the sport was in the process of rethinking how its content should reach fans, and said that those discussions were actively underway.

“Additionally,” he said, “we are going to be a stornger partner for the states and the regions that comprise our industry,” through the creation of a new position at TJC with 100% of their time dedicated to state initiatives.

“This sport, presented the right way, can compete for the modern fan,” he said.

Keynote Speaker Maffei Details New Racing League

Greg Maffei, the CEO of BANN Ventures, and the Co-Founder and Chair of the Horse Racing League (HRL), delivered the keynote speech outlining the details and goals of the new team-based horse racing league he has created. Maffei is the former President and CEO of Liberty Media, the parent company that acquired Formula 1 in 2017. He was responsible for overseeing its massive commercial expansion and growing popularity in the U.S., much of which was driven by the Netflix series Drive To Survive.

The HRL, scheduled to launch in the spring of 2027, will be a team-based competition with a season-long championship with celebrity- and brand-owned stables.

“It's not for you,” he told the audience. “We want to reach out to a bunch of people who see (racing) once or who don't see it at all.”

“Our goal is…to build an ongoing relationship with fans that continues,” he said. “The HRL will be about teams that they can emotionally identify with, follow, cheer on, and bet for. It will be about season-long storylines that unfold before, during, and after the race…taking a lesson from what we did with Drive to Survive and building continuity and having a way to stay in touch with people. It was mentioned before that horse racing has a supply problem. I'll disagree. Horse racing has a demand problem. It doesn't have enough new fans coming in. I think that's what we really need.”

The league has hired eight people on its way to a total staff of 25.

The league plans on having 80 horses drafted by 10 teams, with four races on each day, two on turf and two on the dirt. They plan on three events in the first year, growing to six events in coming years.

Concluded Mattei, “I started out by telling you this wasn't for you. That having been said, we need you. This is one industry. This is one group that needs to work together.”

Modern Ways of Marketing the Sport

A presentation from Victoria Edwards from the Frankie Jean Group, a brand advisory company, joined by Dan Tordjman from America's Best Racing, proposed a new national marketing strategy for racing, identifying the sports problems as multi-layered: declining handle, an aging audience, a shrinking foal crop, and declining attendance. All of that exists in the face of increased competition from gaming, entertainment, and increasing sports offerings.

But the 2026 Kentucky Derby was the most-watched Derby on record, said Edwards; more than the 2026 Masters final round, the average 2025 World Series game, and this year's NCAA men's final.

She argued that the problem is that most of the 24 million people who watched the race won't watch another race all year long. Horse racing, she said, is not building a long-lasting relationship with fans. “Racing can get a hot date,” she said. “But you can't sustain a committed relationship. You are getting ghosted.”

FJG conducted a national audience study of 25-45 year olds, and learned that people know racing exists, but don't know how to access it. Thus, it is absent from their consideration right now. Potential fans said that they would enjoy dressing up for racing, would enjoy more horse racing content, and would use betting apps if they knew where to find them. “Nobody needed convincing,” she said of the people in the survey. “They needed inviting.”

A study showed that 29% of users became more interested in a sport after watching content about it on TikTok. Modern sports, Edwards argued, closes the distance between fans and the sport, and racing needs to do the same. “The fastest-growing sports in the world create content that the audience wants to participate in,” she said.

She advised racing to make the characters famous, not just the sport. Stories should provide engaging content all year long. And create moments–give people something to do, not just to watch.

The JRA's Hashimoto Discusses Japanese Successes Among a Younger Demographic

Tom Hashimoto | The Jockey Club

Tom Hashimoto, General Manager of the New York office of the Japanese Racing Association gave a presentation on what is being done to attract younger generations of racing fans and to sustain the popularity of racing in Japan.

Carrying over the theme of fan involvement, Hashimoto discussed the success of the Arima Kinen, held late in the year in Japan. “What makes it unique is that fans help shape the field through voting, giving them a direct role in selecting the horses they most want to see compete,” said Hashimoto. “The race is known for producing the highest wagering turnover of any Thoroughbred race in the world. The Arima Kinen is one of the most successful examples of fan engagement in Japanese racing today.”

The JRA had introduced new fans to racing through a strategy he called “pop-ification,” featuring celebrities in its advertising campaigns, and encouraging third-party efforts to promote racing, like TV dramas, games, and anime connected to racing. The anime Umamusume Pretty Derby is a game that attracts fans to events, both in Japan and abroad.

“Centered around the mobile game, Umamusume has successfully expanded its fanbase through a media-mix approach spanning manga, anime, movies, music, and live concerts,” he said. “Remarkably, this enthusiasm has translated into real-world experiences, sparking a genuine interest in horse racing itself and driving fans to visit actual racetracks.” He named one TV drama series, Passing the Reins, a behind-the-scenes look at racing. A survey found that the game and the series were the biggest drivers of new fans to racing in Japan.

Said Hashimoto, “This suggests that, rather than relying solely on direct advertising, it is more effective to tap into media and cross-industry collaborations that allow people to encounter racing in their everyday lives and develop an interest in the sport.”

Appelbaum on the Ownership Experience

In pondering his own feelings about owning racehorses now, and over the course of his life, Joe Appelbaum, the co-founder of the racing and breeding partnership Off The Hook and the Founder & CEO of the wagering app powered by AI, Waigr, said he was driven to dig into statistics describing the actual owner experience.

What he found was that over the past 20 years, ownership is down 46%. While much of that was due to the closure of regional racetracks, he said that poor retention is also a structural crisis. After one year in racing, 39.4% of owners leave the sport. After year five, that number climbs to 79.2%. Regional track closures was the biggest driver of this dip, he said.

“At first glance, it appears owners are telling us that the product we are offering–owning and racing a thoroughbred–is simply not competitive with other leisure and sporting options competing for their time and money. But what they are really telling us is that they are willing to pay for a premium experience, if the sport is willing and able to deliver it.” He pointed out that syndicates seem to be bucking the trend, and that purse money per horse per start is actually up.

He said that the idea of leasing a horse could help owners limit their exposure while providing a positive experience. “Anecdotally,” he said, “syndicates are more healthy than individual ownership groups.”

He stressed the need to find ways for owners to enjoy themselves, and participate in social gatherings.

“There is the possibility of more, a better future; but we need to compete for it. We compete fiercely on the track, but when the competition is other sports and other entertainment options, our response has been rather feeble. We act as if the competition is between Saratoga and Del Mar, or Xpressbet and TwinSpires. It isn't. Our real competition is hanging in Berckmans Place at the Masters, fractional ownership of a European football club, a Wheels Up membership, or a new lake house for your grandkids to spend summers. No one is coming to save our sport. The solution is in this room.”

Changes Afoot at the Maryland Jockey Club

Jim Dresher, the Chairman of the Maryland Jockey Club, gave an update of the changes happening in Maryland under the new MJC.

Jim Dresher | TJC

Alluding to the new series for three-year-olds that currently does not include the Preakness, he opened his remarks with a joke. “Contrary to what people might think, this is not a eulogy,” he said, drawing a laugh from the audience.

Dresher detailed the new construction underway at Pimlico, which will offer a ship-in only facility, unique in the U.S., with 300 stalls for the Black-Eyed Susan, Preakness, and other racing festivals. Dresher said that the 2027 Preakness would be held at Pimlico with temporary construction for fans, but that the grandstand should be completed for the 2028 event. Live racing will continue at Laurel until Pimlico opens, featuring new stalls, dorms, and facilities for horsemen.

Dresher also praised Maryland Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Moore for supporting racing, the Preakness, and for rejuvenating the surrounding Park Heights neighborhood. He said that Maryland will be the “shiny new penny” of the Midlantic region, offering a new track for fans, new stalls for horsemen, and new dorms for the backstretch employees.

Clement de Bona Discusses Public Interest in the Sport

The audience was introduced to Charlotte Clement de Bona, hired as The Jockey Club's Chief Strategy and Transformation Office, and who gave a report on the state of public interest in the sport.

“The Jockey Club's future mission is a service organization to all participants in the industry, focusing on sustainable growth,” she said. “My job is the route to that, and my job is to be able to tell you honestly whether we're on it. Change is hard and change takes time, but that doesn't mean we shy away from it. We are committed to hearing your feedback and acting on it.”

As the organization works toward that goal, de Bona pledged transparency from The Jockey Club.

“We are committed to modernizing the products you interact with daily to improve how you do what you do every day,” she said. “So here's our commitment. No decision gets made without proof and data that it's worth making. No experiment gets run without measurement built in it before it starts. And no one on our team celebrates anything until we see actual improvements in the numbers that matter. Beyond that specific commitment, every key industry metric and every initiative we run, we are going to share it publicly and transparently what's working and what is not.”

Update on TJC's Traceability Initiative

Kristin Werner, the Vice President of Thoroughbred Strategy, gave an update on the Jockey Club's Traceability Initiative.

Three years ago, The Jockey Club launched the initiative to help identify what happens to horses when they leave racing or breeding. She described the steps that had been taken over the past three years, including a survey, digital certificate prompts, and an `ID My Thoroughbred' app.

“The goal isn't to know where every horse is every day,” she said. “The goal is to reduce the blind spots and improve the understanding of what happens after racing and breeding. As we continue this work, I'd encourage you to take a look at the resources available through The Jockey Club for planning a thoroughbred's next career.”