Despite the historic growth of Major League Soccer — only accelerating with the arrival of Lionel Messi — U.S. fans are proving yet again that there’s nothing quite like seeing the best players in the world.

A record crowd of 82,026 showed up at the home of the Dallas Cowboys — AT&T Stadium in Arlington — on Saturday for an exhibition installment of Spain’s legendary El Clásico rivalry between La Liga’s FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Far from a one-off, the match is part of global investment firm Sixth Street’s Soccer Champions Tour to capitalize on American fans’ desire to fill NFL and college football stadiums to see top European players.

An exhibition doubleheader featuring Premier League teams Newcastle-Chelsea and Brentford-Brighton drew a sold out crowd of 70,789 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday night in Atlanta.

Even with MLS expansion, new stadiums, record attendance, and growing franchise values, the league still isn’t a No. 1 global destination for top players in their primes — unlike most other major North American pro leagues.

That means major European clubs will continue to look to the U.S. for future exhibition and business opportunities, a situation exacerbated by increased American ownership of said clubs.

The next phase: European regular-season matches played on American soil. 

“Having official matches here, it’s not a matter of if, but when,” Boris Gartner, CEO of La Liga North America, told Front Office Sports.

La Liga in particular has sought to bring league matches to the U.S. but has run into resistance from FIFA, Spanish regulators, and fans thus far, while legal entanglements remain. But momentum and attitudes are changing.

Churchill Downs racing is set to return in September, but there’s still no definitive answer for the cause of this spring’s spate of horse deaths — and one might never arrive.

On Monday, officials for Churchill Downs Inc. said that live racing at the famed Kentucky racetrack will resume Sept. 14, ending a suspension of more than three months precipitated by one of the deadliest Triple Crowns ever, in which 15 horses died.

The resumption of scheduled racing arrives with a series of new health protocols, including increased veterinary oversight, the creation of a new safety management committee, additional track surface testing, and continued collaboration with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

But a clear diagnosis of what led to the deaths never emerged from the internal safety review. Churchill Downs said “analysis by multiple leading experts found no issues with the racing surfaces” — and more broadly, no significant issues with the facilities or differences from prior years.

“That [lack of solid answers], in a sense, can sometimes be unsatisfying,” said Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO. “But that’s business, and that’s sports. We just have to commit to continually doing everything we can.”

While racing at Churchill Downs has been on pause this summer, ambitious plans for a new paddock construction project were unveiled, and the company reported record net revenue.

The ability of international soccer teams to skirt rules around spending limits is slowly but surely growing more difficult.

Juventus has been given a one-year ban from European competition and a $22 million fine by UEFA, while Chelsea has been fined $11 million for separate violations of FIFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. Due to a previous violation, the Italian club had already been deducted points in Serie A and was only due to compete in the third-tier Europa Conference League.

The punishments are signals that UEFA is serious about curbing “creative” accounting habits, longtime sports lawyer Irwin Kishner told Front Office Sports. “To the extent that creativity comes in,” Kishner explained, “I think it’s being somewhat limited now.”

It’s particularly timely given the similar situation surrounding defending Premier League and Champions League titleholders Manchester City, a club that has been accused of breaking FFP rules — so far without sanctions. 

If and when a ruling on Man City comes down, fans can expect the club to work together with UEFA for a fair outcome.

Kishner, co-chair of the sports law group at Herrick, Feinstein LLP, speculated that the Juventus and Chelsea punishments were agreed to by all parties after some back-and-forth. “I strongly suspect these were cooperative resolutions and ultimately wound up in the right place,” he said.

The ongoing consolidation of U.S. sports betting has claimed another high-profile casualty.

FanDuel parent company Flutter Entertainment and Fox Sports parent Fox Corp. will shut down Fox Bet over the next month, bringing an end to a four-year experiment that sought to link the power of the Fox brand and an expanded legal framework for U.S. sports betting.

Fox Bet obtained sports betting licenses in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — each robust markets with multiple pro teams to help drive activity. But a fast-developing wave of industry consolidation has already led to the demise of once-prominent sportsbooks such as MaximBet, Fubo Sportsbook, Churchill Downs, and theScore.

Overall U.S. sports betting is roughly 70% controlled by FanDuel and top rival DraftKings, leaving precious little market share for the multitude of other competitors.

Fox, which owns 2.5% of Flutter, will retain an option to acquire 18.6% of FanDuel, beginning at a $20 billion valuation as of last year and rising at 5% annually through 2030.

“When we look at the totality of our betting position, we increasingly think that the option that we have over FanDuel is the one that’s really important for us,” Steve Tomsic, Fox Corp. CFO, said earlier this year.

A major outlier to the betting consolidation wave is Fanatics, which recently completed its acquisition of PointsBet’s U.S. operations and plans a major rollout.