Poker Pro Vanessa Russo

I couldn’t find anything about this on the NTRA or Breeders’ Cup websites, but the Thoroughbred Times is reporting that the Breeders’ Cup has established a sponsorship with poker superstar Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who is the youngest player on poker’s top 10 career money list with more than $11-million in career tournament earnings. Last year, “The Grinder” made the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing fifth to pocket over $2.3-million.

Breeders’ Cup believes the partnership will help introduce wagering and liquidity of the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships to the poker world.

“We believe that there is a strong cross-over between poker and horse racing, which has not yet been realized”, said Peter Rotondo, vice president of media and entertainment for Breeders’ Cup.

I commend the Breeders’ Cup and Rotondo for trying this approach. It may not work as well as they hope since the crossover between poker players and handicappers is surprisingly low. I know this from having conducted surveys during my time at Brisnet.com.  Regardless, it is a worthwhile attempt by the industry.

Follow-up: A poker site just came out bashing The Grinder for his alignment with the racing industry. Read about the pushback here.