By Frank Scandale @TheDailyPayoff
Stephen Panus, vice president of America’s Best Racing operation, gears up for the first leg of the Triple Crown races, arguably the most difficult achievement in sports. Clearly quite excited about the digital opportunities the sport offers today, Panus took time out recently to talk about horse racing, the advances in technology, online horse betting and the future of all of it.
Stephen Panus, ABR’s vice president
Title: Vice President, America’s Best Racing
Duties: Oversee digital, social, earned media and video production for America’s Best Racing
HomeTown: Southport, CT
Twitter: @Man_o_PR
Previous Life: Sports attorney/agent and publicist/marketer – started as a publicist working with the late Joe Goldstein and moved onto stints as an NFL player agent, marketer for 3-time Indy 500 and Dancing with the Stars champion Helio Castroneves and attorney/VP Biz Dev. for Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf
Most memorable moment in Sports: 1980 USA Olympic hockey win over USSR
Most memorable moment in Thoroughbred Racing: Attending my first Breeders’ Cup. It simply is one of the most underrated major sporting events held on American soil. A must for any true American sports fan. It truly has it all – the best horses, gambling, cocktails, fashion and fans.
Favorite all-time horse: Affirmed
TDP: Let’s get right to it. There has not been a Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed took all three legs. How do you assess this year’s crop of contenders and what are the odds of having a Triple Crown Winner?
SP: It’s a terrific and deep class of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, topped by the dual threats trained by Bob Baffert, American Pharoah and Dortmund. In addition to those two undefeated race horses, 18 other excellent race horses including Mubtaahij, Firing Line, International Star, Carpe Diem, Materiality, Upstart, Frosted, and Far Right, among others, will comprise the likely field of 20 horses. The first Saturday in May should prove as exciting as ever with this talented class of 3-year-old Thoroughbreds vying to capture the first leg of the Triple Crown.
As far as the odds for a race horse to win the Triple Crown…well, it’s only been accomplished 11 times. It takes a special horse to win 3 races at 3 different race tracks and 3 different distances over the span of five weeks. Will it happen this year? Stay tuned to find out. And if you’re interested in gambling on whether that happens or not, you can. The Wynn sports book offers a prop bet on it and also has the Derby favorite, American Pharoah listed at 10/1 odds to win the Triple Crown.
TDP: Which of the Three legs, which do you consider the most difficult to win and why?
SP: They each are equally hard to win on their own merits. But history would likely say that the third and final leg, the Belmont Stakes, may be the most difficult for a variety of reasons. It’s the longest distance (1.5 miles) of the 3 races and has been anointed as the test of champions as the pressure mounts when a Thoroughbred comes to New York with a Triple Crown on the line. Since 1979 there have been 13 horses with a chance to win the Triple Crown heading into the Belmont Stakes and 13 horses who failed.
TDP: With the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight on the same day as the Derby, how will that affect viewership, interest and ultimately betting handles?
SP: Interest in the Kentucky Derby is always sky-high as it draws significant viewership, typically well over 15-16 million, via the live coverage provided by NBC Sports, in addition to the 165,000 people who pack Churchill Downs. Derby parties are conducted from coast-to-coast, mint juleps are consumed and an entire millinery industry provides fans of all ages with a host of selections for their outfits. And, gambling on America’s most famous horse race certainly is big part of the slice of Americana that attracts so many to the sport on the first Saturday in May. I read recently where Kevin Bradley of Bovada mentioned that with the Derby and Pacquiao-Mayweather fight both happening on May 2 it should prove to be the second biggest gambling day of the year, behind only the Super Bowl. Who knows, it could be even bigger. Last year $129.2 million was wagered on the Kentucky Derby alone. It should be an epic day of sports viewing and gambling for fans across the nation.
TDP: What are the biggest challenges facing the horse racing industry today? And what is ABR doing to aid the cause?
SP: Just like every other major professional sport, horse racing is confronted with how to market to and reach Millennials. Creating the next generation of fans for any sport or brand is pivotal toward building long-term success. That’s exactly why The Jockey Club created and launched America’s Best Racing in 2012. America’s Best Racing, a multi-media fan development and awareness-building initiative, is focused on the competition and the lifestyle of the sport. ABR continues to attract and draw in new fans to the multiple touch points – racing, gambling, pop culture, fashion , food and travel, for instance – through an integrated plan of digital, social and earned media supporting expanded, live television coverage of big race events across Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports, a brand ambassador program with representatives located in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago, a social media influencer strategy, and key strategic partnerships with racetracks and the Breeders’ Cup.
We are attracting a more youthful audience to the sport, a demo in the 18 – 40 year-old range that connects with the aspirational elements of the sport, that has embraced the excitement and affordability of a big race day event at destination race tracks like Gulfstream Park in Florida, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course in New York, Arlington Park in Illinois, and Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California, among others. And no other sport produces as many adrenaline rushes as horse racing does.
TDP: With the various efforts ongoing to legalize sports betting around the nation, and the rise of Fantasy in the world, how will this help or hurt the horse racing? And what is your opinion on the efforts?
SP: Horse racing remains the only legalized method of gambling online. And the reality is that Millennials live on their phones and mobile devices. The taboo formerly associated with sports betting no longer exists in the wake of the emergence of daily fantasy sites. All of this adds up to an opportunity for horse racing. One of America’s Best Racing partner sponsors is DerbyJackpot.com, a digital and mobile platform which allows fans to place real money bets: as little as a dime at over 100 race tracks across the country. DerbyJackpot players are treated to a live video feed of each race while they chat with fellow players, all the while successfully packaging the thrills of a day at the races into an online experience to be shared among friends and a Millennial generation that has never experienced life without a computer or mobile device. Designed for the social gamers and casual players, including those who purchase lottery tickets, DerbyJackpot’s ease of online use removes several of the traditional obstacles that have precluded horse racing from attracting younger fans: intimidating and arcane racing lingo, long betting lines at race tracks, and a dearth of data and statistics compiled in complex fashion and forms. In fact, over 75 percent of their players had never bet on horse racing before playing DerbyJackpot.