Tommy Roberts, an exuberant entrepreneur whose innovations helped advance the Thoroughbred industry over many decades, died Aug. 14 at his vacation home in North Carolina. He was 96. His longtime friend Joe Raucci confirmed Roberts’ death.

Roberts’ foresight fueled an economic engine that proved critical to the success of horse racing over the past four decades. By leasing satellite time from companies and beaming signals from racetracks to Nevada casinos, Roberts was called the “Father of Simulcasting” and was directly responsible for the exponential increase in revenue. He also brought signals from one racetrack to another, moving the sport away from a model where spectators could only bet on races at the location they were currently at.

Roberts brought horse racing into the television age in 1957 when he produced, hosted and sold airtime for a 30-minute daily television show at the Atlantic City Race Course. This was the first time horse racing had a permanent presence on television. A 21-station East Coast radio network aired his “The Race of the Day” for more than two decades. In 1960, Roberts hosted the first color horse racing broadcast, an NBC broadcast from Hialeah Park that featured former President Harry Truman. During his career, he hosted shows on CBS, NBC and ABC at various times, working with Jim McKay, Howard Cosell, Al Michaels and Jim Simpson.

In the late 1960s, Roberts’ Independent Television Network broadcast a weekly television show from Hialeah, Gulfstream Parkand Tropical Park, which he also produced and hosted. In the early 1970s, he cleared 118 television stations for coverage of the Washington, DC International Stakes Laurel Parkwho also acts as a racing commentator on the show.

Roberts’ greatest contribution, however, was to the modern perception of horse racing.

In 1983, he conducted a simulcast experiment, sending a signal between the Meadowlands and the Atlantic City Racecourse. A year later, he obtained a license from the Nevada Gaming Control Board and started a company that sold simulcasts to Nevada casinos and international racetracks. Within two months, he was bringing signals from 30 North American racetracks coast to coast to Nevada.

Roberts thus ushered in the era of simulcast broadcasts, which became a crucial model for the horse racing industry.

In a 2019 interview with BloodHorse, Roberts admitted, “I owned a satellite-based horse racing business, but I still have light switch issues. To say those early start-up days were hectic would be an understatement.”

By 1984, Caesar’s Palace had built a $21 million horse and sports betting facility, and the Las Vegas Hilton followed close behind. In the late 1980s, the casinos quadrupled their annual horse racing revenues. Roberts also began making deals so that racetracks could send signals to each other.

Eventually, Roberts’ son, Todd, improved the technology and renamed the company Roberts Communications Network, the leading communications provider for the betting industry. The younger Roberts also founded the Racetrack Television Network, which broadcasts Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse racing.

In his 2022 autobiography, Have I Got a Story for You, Tommy Roberts documents his candid adventures in various media and full-time industry jobs, calling everyone from Wilt Chamberlain to Eddie Arcaro good friends.

While serving in the Korean War, Roberts produced and hosted a radio show and hosted guests such as actors Mickey Rooney and William Holden, singer Eddie Fisher, and heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis.

In Philadelphia, Roberts was active in all areas of entertainment. He was a radio disc jockey, hosted a television music show that preceded “American Bandstand,” and owned radio and television stations. On these stations, he was a live commentator for the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers and the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. He also produced and commentated on championship boxing matches.

In his book, he describes in detail his friendships and exploits with celebrities such as Ed McMahon, Milton Berle, Princess Grace, Arnold Palmer and Joe DiMaggio.

Roberts held a series of office jobs at racetracks, beginning at Garden Stake Park in 1953. When he moved to Florida, he became vice president and general manager of Hialeah in 1976 and befriended a who’s who of equestrians, from Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons to John Nerud. He brought with him the “Ed Sullivan Show,” which was taped in Hialeah and featured a singing performance by the track’s jockeys.

In his later years, Roberts had a winter home in Florida and continued to win club golf tournaments into his 90s. He is survived by his wife, Vicky, and son, Tommy II. The funeral will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation or the First Tee Program.