LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Churchill Downs says its future in the California horseracing industry is jeopardized by the state’s thoroughbred owners association.
It makes this claim in a Feb. 2 lawsuit filed in federal court against the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which is disputing an arrangement reached between Churchill Downs Technology and Santa Anita Park.
This arrangement allows Churchill Downs to accept online bets from California residents and collect a percentage from them. TOC wants more money from the arrangement that it is already getting, claiming in an arbitration proceeding that it initiated that Churchill Downs should only get 4.1%.
“This change would cost Churchill Downs Technology millions of dollars and upset almost a decade of an established course of dealing between the contracting parties,” the lawsuit says.
“While the difference in percentages may at first seem insignificant, they are worth millions of dollars. That is because the vast majority (approximately 80%) of the wagered dollars must go back to the public.
“So any reduction in the percentages, even just a tenth of a percentage, has a significant impact on Churchill Downs Technology’s ability to operate in California.”
Scott Edelman of Gibson Dunn filed the plaintiff’s complaint.