Former top jockey turned television pundit Joe Talamo has expressed his shock at the decision to close FanDuel TV, the US's dedicated horse racing channel. Talamo, who rode more than 2,300 winners and earned nearly £100 million in prize-money during his career, said: 'I did not have this on my bingo card.'
Talamo retired from riding in 2024 and joined FanDuel TV as a full-time host and racing analyst in August 2025. However, last week the network's parent company, Flutter – which owns Betfair and other betting brands – announced a phased closure of the channel to focus on its core sports betting business. Staff were told that 60 per cent of the workforce would be made redundant at the end of June, with the remainder of more than 100 job losses completed by November, ahead of a permanent shutdown in 2027.
The decision has been met with dismay from US racing figures, including British broadcaster Nick Luck, who works for NBC. He posted on X: 'A dismal decision by those in high command @FlutterEnt – come on... do better.' Talamo, who will depart in June, reflected on the news with his wife Elizabeth, telling her: 'I just can’t believe it’s only three more months. The last two years I did not have this coming.'
Colleagues also expressed their support. FanDuel's Mike Joyce said: 'I feel for Joe because he was just starting this second career and he's really effing good at this. You can't teach likability and Joe has that in spades.' Fellow pundit Simon Bray added: 'I love @JoeTalamo. He was a great addition to our team.'
