NYRA this weekend will "benefit from significant increases in attendance and, more important, betting" with the prospect of Justify winning the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes. Betting amounts and TV ratings surrounding California Chrome's bid in '14 and American Pharoah's success in '15 "illustrate the gold rush that follows when history is at stake." NYRA reported "all-sources wagering totals" of $83M on the '14 Belmont Stakes and $75M in '15. With no Triple Crown prospect, the total fell to $52.2M in '16. Reserved seating for the Belmont is "sold out." Belmont "is continuing" its practice of capping attendance at 90,000 (N.Y. TIMES, 6/7).

TWINS

The Twins on Friday will host their second Prince Night on what would be the late musician's 60th birthday. The team will “hand out inflatable Prince-like guitars to the first 10,000 fans who enter the ballpark.” Those fans will be “asked to remain standing during the seventh-inning stretch and illuminate those purple replicas for a moment of remembrance.” Twins players and staff will “wear Prince-themed T-shirts during batting practice.” Prince’s birthday was Thursday (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/8).

The Marlins are “wearing the old Florida Marlins uniforms" for this weekend’s three-game series against the Padres as part of their 25th anniversary celebration. If entertainment is about “giving the public what it wants,” then the Marlins might “want to seriously reconsider the part-time status of this weekend’s teal uniforms.” Calls for teal permanency were “matched only by one other suggestion -- that in order to really bring fans back, the team has to win” (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 6/7).

College Football 150, the entity created to celebrate the game’s 150-year anniversary in '19, has commissioned three firms to market sponsorship opportunities. Dallas-based The Marketing Arm, which already had an advisory relationship with CFB150; Birmingham-based The Colonnade Group; and Atlanta-based Trenches Sports & Entertainment will share the marketing inventory that is being sold. “We are pleased to have three companies marketing anniversary opportunities with great backgrounds in working with brands to activate around college football,” said CFB150 Exec Dir Kevin Weiberg. “Our campaign is focused on reaching college football fans and we believe there are wonderful opportunities for companies to help us tell the story of the tremendous impact and influence the game has had on lives and communities.”

Colonnade has a portfolio deep in college football, both in sales and events. Trenches, a Whitener Company agency, works with both properties and brands. Company Founder Brad Olecki was on the leadership team that launched the College Football HOF. Sponsors will have use of the CFB150 mark in consumer promotions and at retail. Custom packages are available to sponsors that may include advertising in CFB150 video content, social media promotions and experiential exhibits leading up to and during the '19 season. The national campaign will span the entire year with emphasis on the opening week of the season, a national celebration week in November and postseason play.

DXC Technology

As part of its entitlement of Saturday night's Verizon IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, DXC Technology will have its proprietary voice- and-cloud-controlled drone deliver the green flag for the race to the flag stand. DXC is a primary sponsor of Team Penske’s No. 22 Chevy driven by Simon Pagenaud, and the IT services company bought the entitlement in part because it can host guests and employees at the race since it is based in nearby Plano, Texas.

But the company is also in the voice-controlled drone business, and will have the drone deliver the green flag before the race to the flag stand in order to show off its technology. The drone will take off at 7:34pm CT and be shown live on NBCSN's pre-race show. Other activation includes a track walk with a couple hundred employees to raise money for a charity, and meet-and-greets with Pagenaud.

15 Seconds of Fame has signed a multiyear agreement with the NBA to enable the capture and delivery of fan moments on facility videoboards and game broadcasts at all 29 league arenas. The deal adds to prior pacts 15SOF has with MLBAM, NFL, NHL, the Big Ten Network and many individual pro and college teams. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal was struck with the aid of company adviser and The Montag Group President & CEO Sandy Montag. The company last month won Best in Mobile Fan Experience at the ’18 Sports Business Awards.

The Earthquakes on Saturday will begin offering fans the opportunity for expedited entry at Avaya Stadium by scanning a fingerprint. The tech, provided by N.Y.-based biometric security firm CLEAR, is similar to the pre-check process used at airports by the TSA. Fans can sign up for free outside the venue, and the enrollment and approval process, which includes a fingerprint scan, takes about five minutes and becomes active immediately. Once approved, fans also can opt for an upgrade to receive CLEAR’s airport clearance, which costs $179 annually and is installed at 24 U.S. airports.

CLEAR VP/Sports & Entertainment Lauren Stangel said approximately 50% of fans who have used their lanes at Safeco Field or SunTrust Park this season originally enrolled at the airport. LAFC deployed the techlast month at Banc of California Stadium. CLEAR is available at 13 venues within the NBA, MLS and MLB.

Katie Ledecky’s endorsement deal with Tyr Sport is worth a “guaranteed” $7M and runs through the ‘24 Paris Games, according to sources (TWITTER.com, 6/8).

N.C. STATE

N.C. State "unveiled a new look" for its football team Friday in conjunction with Adidas, featuring "several new combinations of cleats, helmets, jerseys and pants" (NBCSPORTS.com, 6/8).

Three American Athletic Conference ADs have been appointed to NCAA D-I committees -- Tulane's Troy Dannen (Competition Oversight); Temple's Patrick Kraft (Strategic Vision & Planning ); and Memphis' Tom Bowen (Football Oversight) (AAC).

Budweiser has released a video celebrating the Golden Knights' debut season called "500 to 1: This Bud's For Las Vegas." The video is set to the song "Shot At The Night" by The Killers (THE DAILY).

"Three different groups have contacted us to explore availability and interest" -- St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission President Kitty Ratcliffe, on pro football returning to the city (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/8).

"We’ve paid the (luxury) tax before. I don’t think we’re afraid to do it again. With the way our team is going, we would be very shortsighted to make a move right now, with the young bunch we’ve accumulated so far, for financial reasons" -- Nuggets President Josh Kroenke, on the franchise not cutting payroll at the expense of competitiveness (THEATHLETIC.com, 6/7).

I’m truly overwhelmed by texts, messages and calls. I can’t respond to them all but I’m reading every one of them and cannot thank you enough for all you have done for our team and our city.

— Ted Leonsis (@TedLeonsis) June 8, 2018

The NHL, like all major soccer leagues, hand the championship trophy to the team captain. Very cool moment. NBA, NFL & MLB hand it to the owner(s). Not as cool. Time to change that "tradition."

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) June 8, 2018

Professional Bowlers Association CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark will present Mookie Betts a PBA 300 ring for the perfect game Betts rolled during the PBA World Series of Bowling in Reno, Nev., on Nov. 12, 2017 at tonight's game vs. the White Sox..

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) June 8, 2018

The man sitting one row in front of me on the red eye home from Las Vegas told his seatmates that he used to play in the NHL.
He didn't tell them that he was all time great.
His name: Mike Bossy.

— steve simmons (@simmonssteve) June 8, 2018

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

Saturday

Almost 40 members of the Red Sox front office will participate in the Boston Pride Parade.

The Brewers parody the classic comedy "Dumb And Dumber" while showcasing their bullpen cart. 

You’ll like this video. You’ll like it ahh-lawt. pic.twitter.com/pZagdF8H14

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 7, 2018

$13,005 -- The winning bid for 23 pairs of Air Jordans at auction to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Illinois (THE DAILY).