“We wanted to offer our customers racing which we hadn’t before, so I would call it a success for the first time doing it.” “I was pleased with the overall handle and the handle on both the matchups and the fixed odds side,” said Avello, DraftKings’ director of sportsbook operations. For the Haskell, DraftKings offered fixed odds for win bets, as well as head-to-head wagers between individual horses. Despite the lengthy delay, Avello was still encouraged by a solid handle for DraftKings’ initial foray into horse racing.
Last listed race is the $1M Haskell Invitational: /vYkHOeh5T0Īt DraftKings, Avello still accepted fixed odds wagering on five races during the July 20 slate. Icymi, here are the heat-related – and public pressure-related -changes to the Haskell Day card at Monmouth Park. With the safety of the thoroughbreds in mind, Monmouth Park officials delayed the race card for more than four hours pushing the start of the Grade 1 $1 million TVG.com Haskell Invitational into prime time. While unseasonably warm temperatures throughout the Jersey Shore dominated the headlines at this year’s Haskell Invitational, Johnny Avello had the comfort of air conditioning inside his office to rollout an intriguing horse racing product at DraftKings.Īvello, a veteran sportsbook manager with more than four decades of experience in thoroughbred racing, intended to use New Jersey’s signature event as a springboard for DraftKings’ fixed odds platform.
