However, Churchill Downs remains firmly opposed to offering fixed-odds at its Kentucky tracks
LOUISVILLE – Horse racing takes center stage this weekend with Kentucky Derby 152 taking place at Churchill Downs Saturday evening. It’s the biggest event in thoroughbred racing, one that may draw upwards of a quarter-billion dollars in bets on the field of 20.
All of that money will be wagered through parimutuel markets offered by Churchill at the track and at other tracks and off-track betting parlors across North America, as well as through online advance-deposit wagering apps.
In recent years, parimutuel wagering has come under fire thanks to the emergence of computer-assisted wagering services that place millions of dollars in wagers across the country. Often, those CAW accounts will bet vast sums near the start of the race, causing bettors to see their expected payouts for winning bets drop significantly, with the final odds changing mid-race to reflect the late money added to the pools.
Kentucky lawmakers took steps during the General Assembly session that concluded two weeks ago to address bettors’ concerns. House Bill 904 included a couple of provisions tied to wagering on the ponies. One requires updates to parimutuel totalizer technology that can update odds boards more quickly, and tracks must also ensure that all types of wagering, whether it’s someone trying to place a $2 exacta or a CAWs account making a boatload of bets, close at the same time.
Legislators also added language allowing fixed-odds wagering, another provision many horse players want. However, even with HB 904’s passage, it may be a while before any Kentucky track offers that.
And it’ll probably be longer before Kentuckians can get fixed odds on their favorite Derby horse.
Getting Younger Generation ‘More Excited’ for Racing
State Rep. Michael Meredith (R-Oakland), who sponsored the wide-ranging Kentucky gambling bill with state Rep. Matthew Koch (R-Paris), told Gambling Insider that the decision to include a provision for fixed-odds racing came after talking with stakeholders who have traveled internationally for races. Fixed-odds racing is more prevalent outside of the United States, and Meredith said consensus was building that fixed-odds could be a solution for bettors who had grown weary of parimutuel wagering due to the CAWs.
Meredith, who sponsored the Kentucky sports betting bill in 2023, added that fixed-odds could also help attract younger bettors, who have gravitated toward fixed-odds sportsbooks.
There’s the potential that a track could work with a service provider that also offers sports wagering, and you could see things like horse and football parlays, horse and basketball parlays,” he said. “We saw it as a way of maybe getting the younger generation to be more excited about horse racing.”
HB 904 does not require Kentucky tracks to offer fixed-odds racing. Rather, it only allows them to offer it. The legislation, which lawmakers enacted on April 14 by overriding Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto, allows them to partner with a service provider to handle it.
In Kentucky, laws that do not pass with an emergency clause officially take effect 90 days after the General Assembly session ends. That would mean HB 904 officially becomes law in mid-July.
From there, it would be up to the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to create regulations for fixed-odds racing. In all likelihood, that would likely let tracks offer a fixed-odds platform sometime next year.
Churchill Passes on Fixed-Odds
For years, Churchill Downs officials have opposed fixed-odds wagering, and that remains the case, according to a statement from the company to Gambling Insider on Thursday.
“We will not offer fixed odds wagering at any of our racetrack properties,” the statement read.
Back in 2023, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen told West Virginia state Del. Shawn Fluharty and then-Indiana state Sen. Jon Ford on their Bet on Policy podcast that he supported parimutuel wagering because of the inefficiencies people betting against each other can create.
There’s also another difference between fixed-odds and parimutuel wagering. In racing, parimutuel wagering includes a takeout, a percentage of the pool the track takes before paying wagers. The takeout, which typically ranges between 15% and 25% covers administrative costs and purse money. Tracks know they are guaranteed to retain a certain amount no matter which horse wins. The margins for fixed-odds are smaller, and a profit is not always guaranteed.
Churchill Downs, with its namesake track in Louisville, along with Turfway Park in Erlanger and Ellis Park in Henderson, controls all but about seven weeks of Kentucky’s year-round thoroughbred racing calendar. It also operates a harness track in Oak Grove.
If Not Churchill, Then…
While Churchill’s stance much means Kentucky racing fans won’t be able to place a fixed-odds wager on Derby 153, it doesn’t necessarily mean the company won’t eventually reconsider. There is precedent with historical horse racing, which started in Kentucky for eight years before Churchill Downs opened Derby City Gaming in 2018. HHR is now a major facet of the company’s business.
Should another Kentucky operator, such as Keeneland or The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Cumberland Run in Corbin, or Revolutionary Racing, which will open a quarterhorse track near Ashland later this year, jump on fixed-odds racing and succeed, similar to how Kentucky Downs did with HHR, that could prompt Churchill Downs to reconsider.
For now, though, don’t bet on it.
The post New Kentucky Law Opens Door for Fixed-Odds Horse Racing appeared first on Gambling Insider.
