Churchill Downs Seeks Injunction Against Texas Online Betting Crackdown

AUSTIN – The Churchill Downs racetrack wants a federal judge to stop the Texas Racing Commission from enforcing a law making it illegal for the track to accept online bets from Texans.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 21 in Austin against the executive director and members of the racing commission, said the state recently decided to start enforcing a decades-old law that requires bettors to visit a licensed Texas track to place their bids on out-of-state races like the Kentucky Derby. That law discriminates against the interests of other states in violation of the federal Commerce Clause, the lawsuit claims.