NYRA Bets case study: crafting a cinematic broadcast commercial for the Belmont Stakes.
The challenge:
Capturing a cultural moment on a tight timeline.
The biggest race in years deserved a sports marketing campaign as bold as the moment itself.
The 158th Belmont Stakes was one of the most anticipated races in recent history—headlined by Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo and Cherie DeVaux, the first woman ever to train a Derby winner. NYRA needed a broadcast commercial that captured this massive cultural moment while demonstrating to fans that the NYRA Bets app puts world-class wagering right in their pockets, wherever they go.
However, production faced a massive hurdle: the original location fell through on a Friday, with a Wednesday shoot already locked in. Evolution had a single weekend to solve a major logistical crisis without compromising the creative vision.
Our solution:
Hollywood resourcefulness and agile production.
Evolution’s answer to the location crisis? One day. One backlot. Pure Hollywood magic.
By Monday morning, our video production team had identified and locked Allied Studios in Simi Valley—a classic Hollywood backlot featuring a full urban streetscape. Just three and a half hours after arriving on set Wednesday, cameras were rolling.
To bring the scene to life, we relied on expert art direction and cinematography. The art department first transformed an empty backlot street into a thriving weekend farmers’ market, complete with vendor stalls, a fully operational custom coffee cart staffed by a working barista, and eight extras providing authentic foot traffic. Next, Director John Shepphird employed a classic Hollywood technique—utilizing long lenses to compress the background and stack creative elements on top of each other. This created a cinematic depth-of-field blur that made a tightly controlled production footprint feel like a bustling city on a Saturday morning. Finally, dynamic camera movement featuring a Dana dolly sliding from behind a tree provided the master shot with a cinematic reveal, using practical foreground branches to add depth.
Three actors, eight extras, one coffee cart, and the right glass. We turned a logistical nightmare into a masterclass in agile commercial production.
The result:
A million-dollar look delivered through pure agility.
The final spot launched successfully for the 158th Belmont Stakes across both broadcast TV and digital advertising platforms.
On screen, the commercial looks like a million dollars. Behind the camera, it was a testament to pure Hollywood resourcefulness. Evolution proved that in commercial video production, great instincts, the right director, and a classic backlot will beat a bigger budget every time.
Client: New York Racing Association / NYRA Bets
Director: John Shepphird
Producer: Mark Shockley
Post-Production: Evolution LA
