Fantasy sports for horse racing: a $15 billion race

Horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world. The origin of this game is not clearly known but it is widely believed that it started with two strong-headed gentlemen arguing about who is faster on a horse. Speed has always been one of the greatest thrills to human-beings, horses became the preferred mode of transportation for centuries.

The invention of wheels and then coach mixed speed with comfort and elephant as a mode of transportation became obsolete. While engines did replace horses as the preferred mode of transportation, horse racing still remains popular and is the percussor of bike and car racing sports and now to fantasy horse racing software.

Horse racing and the challenges of the modern world

Betting on horse racing is not legal in some countries, but it still attracts huge following. In US alone, $10.5 billion was wagered on thoroughbred racing in 2015. Although the numbers reached their peak in 2003 and 2004, with $15 billion wagers in 2003 and ‘04. Since then, the sport has seen a small but steady decline. This does not mean that people are not interested in predicting the outcomes of events anymore. On the contrary, the evolution of internet has given people more ways to research their topics of interest, latest news on their fingertips, and a platform to share their knowledge and opinions with billions. So what is the reason behind the decline in interest in horse racing?

Daily fantasy sports: Rise of a giant

Daily fantasy sports, unlike betting on horse racing, are not considered gambling in most countries. They have found ways to keep their fans engaged and are rising in popularity ever since their inception around the mid of last decade. They have also managed to pull fans of other sports, and horse racing has suffered the most. In 2016 alone, daily fantasy sports saw a growth of around 41%. Fantasy sports have given a more engaging platform to the fans than horse-racing ever did. It is not a coincidence that the huge and steady rise in the popularity of daily fantasy sports coincides with the decline in popularity of horse racing.

Combining the coach and the horse

Racetrack owners have already started looking for ways to implement horse racing as fantasy sports. Fantasy horse racing game development will provide them another revenue source while also making it easier for the fans to participate in the events. Horse racing has the advantage of the experience it has gained in keeping the fans engaged and thrilled in the centuries of its existence. It already provides a variety of bets to choose from, and is an ideal game to implement fantasy sports.

This is how Royal Ascot (one of the greatest racing events, held in UK) and Telegraph combine to make the event more successful and get more buzz. Telegraph promotes the race on their website and have a fantasy racing competition, as in any fantasy sport, the results and the winners of the event are decided by the actual winners at the Royal Ascot event. Telegraph users participating in the event get to select from a stable of jockeys and trainers and then an option to pick a single winner for each of the 30 races in the event. Points are decided based on the position of the selected horse in the race. User with the maximum number of points at the end of the event wins a prize and boasting rights for life.
Such an event can be made more interesting by having user predict the top 3 places and spicing up the point system a bit more, like most points for predicting all three correct places.

Fantasy sports have less infrastructure cost

Daily fantasy sports don’t need to have built stables and racetracks and audience stands. Thankfully, they are all in place already, but maintaining them means that betting on horse racing comes with a cost of 20% takeout by the track. On the other hand, daily fantasy sports generally have a takeout of 10%, which is one of the major reasons for horse racing aficionados eloping with the younger sport. For stable owners, implementing fantasy sports for horse racing also ensures a vastly increased participation, which can offset the lesser takeout. At the end, it’s a win-win solution for the fans, the fantasy sport and the racetrack owners, in fact everyone but the losing horse.

Start now, not when the race ends

Do you love speed and want to create a fantasy horse racing software? Be quick about it, it’s all about speed afterall. Do it right and you can probably top the $15 billion revenue of horse racing. Easier participation does help bringing more participants.

Vinfotech, the world leader in fantasy sports website design, can help you with your fantasy horse racing game development. vFantasy, Vinfotech’s fantasy sports software, equipped with thousands of hours of coding and hundreds of successful projects delivered, is the world’s best framework for building fantasy sport. It helps us in serving the customers with quick development of their customised design requests. Vinfotech’s experience in building successful fantasy sports website and mobile applications also means that they can help you in creating a world class product that is more engaging and fun for your users, and also easy to use. We also help our customers in getting initial users and expanding their user-base.

Want to win the race? Give us a call.