Special Episode: The future of racing w/ Daniel O' Sullivan & Sebastian Butterworth
Update: 2025-11-19
Description
This special episode features Seb Butterworth from Flutter and Dan O’Sullivan from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), for a deep dive into the future of horse racing — and how the sport is preparing to engage a new generation of fans.
Hear them discuss:
Applications for the program are open until November 23, culminating in a Shark Tank style pitch at York Racecourse in February 2026.
Hear them discuss:
- The origins and findings of Project Beacon, and what the research reveals about younger and casual audiences
- Why horse welfare, race education, race day experience, and behind-the-scenes access are the four critical innovation themes
- How behind-the-scenes content can build emotional connection and improve understanding of horse welfare
- Why racing struggles with context and “the why” for non-core audiences — and how narrative and storytelling can change that
- Flutter’s approach to modernizing a tradition-rich sport while preserving what makes racing special
- How simplifying the race card (without removing complexity) can make the sport more accessible to newcomers
- The role of technology, wearables, and data in creating richer fan experiences and improving equine welfare
- Early signals from other sports and how innovations like ref-cam, jockey cam, and training-yard content could shape racing’s future
- Why digital platforms will be essential to reaching the next generation of fans
- Details of the Future of Racing startup program: application window, pitch event, evaluation criteria, and potential commercial opportunities
Applications for the program are open until November 23, culminating in a Shark Tank style pitch at York Racecourse in February 2026.
Catch the video version of this episode here.
Learn more 👇
➡️ Daniel O'Sullivan on Linkedin
➡️ Sebastian Butterworth on Linkedin
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