Report: CDI Claims Fair Grounds In Jeopardy Without HHR

An attorney for track operator Churchill Downs Inc. told the Louisiana Racing Commission May 13 that Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots would not proceed with its 2025-26 meet without legislative relief, according to published reports.

CDI’s attorney, Ozair Shariff, speaking before racing commission in New Orleans, stated that operations at Fair Grounds are unprofitable without revenue from historical horse racing gaming terminals there and its off-track betting locations.

HHR devices, which resemble slot machines but whose results are based on previously run horse races, have boosted purses and generated profits across portions of the country for track operators such as CDI, but on March 21, the Supreme Court of Louisiana declared unconstitutional a statute legalizing historical horse racing machines without first requiring local voter approval.

CDI, which has owned Fair Grounds since 2004 and operates a casino on the property, still can operate video poker machines at Fair Grounds and over its off-track betting network, though the games seemingly are not as rewarding.

Paulick Report reported that Fair Grounds racing operations alone lose “millions annually,” Shariff told commissioners, but revenue from the track’s slot machines offset the losses, allowing Fair Grounds to break even.

“Faced with this reality, operating under the current status quo is no longer an option,” Shariff added to commissioners, according to NOLA.com.

CDI’s stance was countered by former Fair Grounds’ owner Louie Roussell III, a longtime Louisiana horseman who is best known for having co-owned and trained Risen Star, winner of the 1988 Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1). He said CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen threatened to pull out of racing in Louisiana in a phone call with him and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

“Don’t let them come here and poor mouth you,” he told the commission, NOLA.com reported.

CDI had net income of $426.8 million in 2024 across its numerous gaming and racing properties. 

“Gov. Landry has told me to tell them, take out your HHR machines, replace them with the video poker machines you had, and start the process, the legislative process if you want HHR machines,” Roussel also said, per Paulick Report. “There will be no state subsidy for this racetrack. None.”

The commission’s chair, Edward Koehl, told CDI representatives at the meeting that if they failed to start making capital improvements in July and begin the season in November, then they would be subject to daily fines.

Tonya Abeln, vice president of corporate communications, did not respond to BloodHorse’s request for comment after the LRC meeting.

HHR gaming, once considered a poor alternative to slots, has become a key strategic focus for CDI. Most of its racing properties, including those in Kentucky and Virginia, offer HHR gaming either at the track or in gaming parlors. CDI also owns Exacta Systems, an HHR technology provider. 

According to NOLA.com, there is a bill currently working its way through the Louisiana legislature that would allow an expansion of video poker machines at bars and truck stops in the state. Under the legislation, the first $22 million in tax revenue from the additional machines would boost winnings at the four horse racing tracks in Louisiana. 

Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a meet from fall through spring of 2025-26, even though Fair Grounds has not asked for dates. 

“We are not accepting the race dates,” Shariff said, according to Paulick Report.

Koehl said the commission would hold another meeting June 15, three days after Louisiana’s legislative session is scheduled to end.