Churchill Downs Makes Veteran Executive Ben Murr Permanent President of TwinSpires
Churchill Downs Inc. on Friday proclaimed that Ben Murr would use up o'er as the unexampled chairwoman of TwinSpires and online gaming.
Murr, a longtime executive director with the Louisville-based gaming company, became TwinSpires’ meanwhile leader after Ian Hiram King Williams left wing to bring together Wynn Interactive in October. Roger Williams became chairman of Wynn Interactive inward November, after connection the Las Vegas accompany to attend as its COO.
For more than ix years, Murr served as First Duke of Marlborough Downs Inc.’s senior vice chairman and CTO. Before that, he antecedently served as the chairperson of CDI’s United Tote sectionalization and as Churchill’s CIO.
I’ve been to a great extent involved with TwinSpires and our Online Gaming trading operations end-to-end my term of office at CDI,” Murr said inwards a release. “I am passionate virtually these businesses and trust strongly inwards their futurity ontogeny potentiality and strategical grandness for CDI.”
He’ll keep back the senior vice chairman title, according to the Duke of Marlborough Downs announcement. However, the companion said it will looking to regain a unexampled CTO, who would also assist as a senior vice president, in the close future.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said inwards the discharge that Murr has helped fuel ontogeny across the company’s operations.
“He has been a tonality participant end-to-end the extended changes in our Company o'er the utmost 14 years and testament preserve to go our TwinSpires and Online businesses forward,” Carstanjen said.
Churchill Downs Keeping TwinSpires
TwinSpires serves as the brandmark gens for John Churchill Downs Inc.’s set ahead bank wagering (ADW) program for pari-mutuel betting. The call is a nod to the iconic feature film of the company’s namesake racecourse inwards Louisville. The online wagering political program for thoroughbred, quarter horse, and rein racing is uncommitted inwards nearly 40 states.
A year ago, Winston Churchill Downs proclaimed it would rebrand its BetAmerica sportsbook and iGaming platforms under the TwinSpires name. It currently offers sports betting inwards Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, MD (retail only), Michigan, Mississippi (retail only), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. It’s also expected to set in motion sports betting in Louisiana. Online cassino games are currently useable inwards Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Winston Churchill Downs was considering a cut-rate sale of TwinSpires, with an estimated valuation of $1.5 billion. However, two weeks later, Horse Racing Nation reported that would not happen, as Murr notified employees after the inventory securities industry opened on Dec. 17.
The Bloomberg cover came after Duke of Marlborough Downs Inc. reached agreements to sell Arlington Park inward IL to the Windy City Bears and 115 acres of set ashore around Alexander Calder Casino inwards Florida to a logistics company. Churchill Downs testament receive virtually $490 gazillion after the deals close.
Top Horse Racing ADW
TwinSpires typically ranks as the country’s spinning top ADW gymnastic horse racing platform. According to information from the Oregon Racing Commission, which has tracked data since 2013, TwinSpires has been the No. 1 program based on palm every yr except for 2020. Last year, Flutter-owned TVG eclipsed it by less than $9.5 million. In 2020, TVG took inward $2.46 1000000000000 inward bets, compared to $2.45 billion.
The figures for 2021 are not in time complete. However, through the number one tierce quarters, TwinSpires has reclaimed the pinch spot, but by a contract margin. Its $1.91 billion palm is most $51.6 1000000 more than TVG.
Churchill Downs has not had the same amount of success in sports betting. In that realm, it competes with operators same DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook.
Not all states news report hold and revenue totals by operator. Of those that do, TwinSpires typically ranks at the get down death of sportsbooks inward those states.
In Arizona, TwinSpires took in $1.6 gazillion of the $486.1 billion in wagers made inwards October. TwinSpires recognised nigh $2.7 jillion of the $463 jillion inward bets made in Hoosier State in December. And for the first-class honours degree v months of the 2022 fiscal year, TwinSpires has reported a palm of $32.9 one thousand thousand inwards Pennsylvania, where $2.77 1000000000000 has been wagered.