- The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is against prediction markets offering bets on the Kentucky Derby and other horse races.
- NTRA CEO Thomas Rooney issued a message to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, claiming that horse racing falls under a different legal space than what prediction markets cover.
- The main concern voiced by Rooney and other NTRA members is protecting the horse racing industry and preventing economic harm that could come from prediction markets.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Prediction markets have found a way to offer betting odds on nearly everything imaginable, but the line gets drawn at horse racing. At least, that’s the message that the CEO of a major horse racing association told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Thursday.
With the biggest event of the year for horse gambling sites right around the corner, National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO Thomas Rooney doesn’t want prediction markets involved in the Kentucky Derby. In a letter to Chairman Michael Selig and the CFTC, Rooney made it clear that prediction markets can’t offer Kentucky Derby betting under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and other statutes that regulate horse racing.
Prediction Markets Threaten Horse Racing Industry Financially
The main concern over prediction markets’ involvement in USA online gambling for horse races like the Kentucky Derby is the economic harm on the horse racing industry. The industry heavily relies on funding received from gambling on the races.
“Additionally, from a public interest perspective, the horseracing industry relies heavily on regulated wagering revenue to fund racetrack operations, purses, breeding programs, and regulatory oversight” Rooney said in his letter. “If predictive markets were allowed to list contracts on horseracing outcomes without complying with the IHA’s consent provisions, these markets would divert wagering activity away from authorized systems…and could cause substantial economic harm to the horseracing industry.”