Churchill Downs sues after Michigan halts betting on out-of-state horse races
As tracks across the nation close, could it impact betting on horse racing?
That question was at the center of a lawsuit between Churchill Downs and one state’s gaming regulator.
Churchill Downs’ subsidiary TwinSpires filed suit in federal court against the Michigan Gaming Control Board in January after the state tried to force the betting platform to stop allowing Michigan residents to wager on out-of-state races.
It’s because of a third-party licensing requirement in Michigan for off-track betting platforms, where a bettor provides funds in their account before being allowed to place a bet.
Under state law, Michigan requires an advanced-deposit wagering platform — more commonly known as an off-track betting platform — to partner with a licensed racetrack. But on Jan. 1, 2025, no horse tracks in Michigan were licensed.
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in favor of TwinSpires, deciding that advanced-deposit wagering platforms can accept bets from Michigan residents.
TwinSpires’ suit claimed Michigan’s requirement is “unlawful” under the federal Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978.
The suit states Congress “established a uniform federal framework for interstate wagering on horseracing decades ago. …. and determined in the (Act) that ‘the federal government should prevent interference by one state with the gambling policies of another.'”
TwinSpires has held the state license for years, although in court documents, the entity argued it voluntarily possessed the state license and “has always maintained it does not need one.”
The Interstate Horseracing Act allows off-tracking betting systems to accept bets on horseracing across state lines.
Three betting platforms comply, but not TwinSpires
Michigan’s gaming board notified four off-track betting platforms on Dec. 23 to stop all account wagering with Michigan residents until licensing issues with a track were resolved.
Xpressbet, Nyrabets and TVG Network complied. TwinSpires did not.
TwinSpires began accepting wagers from Michigan residents in 2010.
At the same time, tracks across the state have closed — Pinnacle Race Course in 2010, Mount Pleasant Meadows in 2014, Sports Creek Raceway in 2015 and Hazel Park in 2018 — leaving Northville Downs as the only horse racing track in Michigan.
Northville Downs temporarily lost its license in Michigan when it moved the location of its track, so when 2025 began, there wasn’t a single track in the state licensed.
On Jan. 9, the gaming board issued a suspension order against TwinSpires for violating state law and the Horse Racing Law of 1995, which says that simulcast and off-track betting must be tied to a live race meet and a licensed track.
“There are currently no tracks in Michigan licensed to conduct live horse racing,” a press release from the Michigan Gaming Control Board said.
TwinSpires filed a lawsuit three days later, requesting a preliminary injunction.
The state filed a motion to dismiss the case and then responded to the motion for preliminary injunction — claiming TwinSpires hadn’t pleaded a federal cause of action, lacked standing to sue for alleged violations of the Act and, if the preliminary injunction were granted, “would cause substantial harm to others and would be against the public interest.”
Court filings include a 2013 letter that shows attorneys for Churchill Downs have been in discussion with the Michigan board about regulating wagering.
“The State of Michigan has the constitutional authority to prohibit all horse race wagering,” the letter states, “But what the State may not do is to authorize wagering and then regulate it in a manner that effectively — if not intentionally — discriminates against out-of-state businesses in favor of their in-state competitors.”
On Wednesday, Chief Judge Hala Jarbou of the Western District of Michigan granted TwinSpires motion for a preliminary injunction and subsequently ruled to “prevent” Michigan’s gaming board and the state’s attorney general from enforcing the state’s licensing requirement against TwinSpirts “for accepting wagers from individuals in Michigan on races that take place outside Michigan.”
In her order, Jarbou wrote “TwinSpires may need a license to accept wagers for races on Michigan racetracks (under a state law) but the (state) cannot penalize or prevent TwinSpires for accepting a wager outside of Michigan when the race is not at a Michigan racetrack.”
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.
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