Deal done: Nevada finally gets full betting again for Ky. Derby

Las Vegas

Nevada racebooks and Churchill Downs Inc. have signed a contract ending a long-running dispute over the racetrack’s simulcast signal, a development that is expected to allow horseplayers in the Silver State to partake of the full wagering menu on this year’s Kentucky Derby for the first time in three years. 

The deal between the Louisville racetrack operator and the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association was announced Tuesday and was being sent to Nevada gaming regulators for approval, which was expected well before the 148th Run for the Roses on May 7 and likely in time for the opening of Churchill Downs spring meet on Saturday.

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Michael Lawton, a spokesman for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said members have reviewed the contract and raised no concerns.

“Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it appears that the board will likely approve pari-mutuel wagering at Churchill Downs, which would include the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby races, sometime this week,” he said. 

A separate contract between the company that distributes racing simulcasts to the state’s casinos is required before betting on Churchill Downs races can resume in the state, but Todd Roberts, president of the Nevada Disseminators Service, said he expects that deal will be finalized on Wednesday and sent to the Gaming Control Board on Thursday.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said of the agreement. 

No details on the terms of the agreement between CDI and the pari-mutuel association were immediately available.

“We are thrilled that the Nevada horseplayers will have access to these premier races,” Churchill Downs Inc. said in a statement confirming the agreement. 

The Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The dispute over how much casinos in the Silver State should pay for the Churchill Downs’ simulcast signal dates to Oct. 27, 2019, and has prevented racebooks from taking bets on races from the Louisville racetrack ever since. For a time, it also led to a blackout of other tracks owned or distributed by the gaming company, including Fair Grounds, Turfway Park and Oaklawn.

There was one big exception.

Under a workaround approved by state gambling regulators, racebooks for the past two years have been allowed to take wagers on “nationally televised races” from Churchill Downs – a carve-out designed specifically to allow for betting on the Kentucky Oaks, the Derby and other graded stakes on the two cards included in the NBC broadcast.

But because the racebooks were not able to co-mingle wagers with the Churchill Downs pari-mutuel pools, they were forced to book the bets themselves. To limit potential losses on horse racing’s biggest day, most opted to pay full odds on win, place and show bets but cap payouts on daily doubles, Pick 3s, exactas and trifectas. And they did not offer other potentially more lucrative exotic wagers at all.

That frustrated casino regulars and visitors from out of state, many of whom were caught unawares by the dispute. 

“As far as I’m concerned, this industry has been shooting itself in the foot forever,” Eric H., a visitor from Port St. Lucie, Fla., who declined to provide his last name, said in 2020 after learning of the impasse upon his arrival at the South Point racebook. “Ultimately, it’s the fans that suffer.”