Churchill Downs Wagering

There has been a lovely argument going on between the Kentucky horsemen and Churchill Downs. Many were following it, but it wasn’t really getting the media attention it truly deserved until it started affecting advanced deposit wagering.

The disagreement between the two factions caused the ADW signals to not go through to companies owned by Churchill Downs, Inc. and Magna Entertainment – as well as other wagering companies. Experts first thought that it was simply a widespread lockout that occurred as a result of the argument over revenue sharing, but it seems that this is not the case.

The group that does not have access to the ADW is a small one consisting of TVG and Youbet.com, as well as a couple others. These two companies would not really have planned on having the signal as they have their own gambling war going on with TrackNet Media since last year.

There were several companies that did have it – such as Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack and the New York Racing Association. There were even some offshore companies that had it as well.

It is hard to say what sort of effect this will have on the track and the wagering. The handle on racing from their opening weekend was down slightly but not enough to consider it a tragedy. They were down 5.5% from $19,202,048 in 2007 to $18,141,245 this year.

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