Churchill to continue funding Jockeys’ Guild programs

The Jockeys’ Guild and Churchill Downs Inc. have renewed for three years an agreement that requires Churchill to provide funds for the Guild’s programs, the organizations announced Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, aside from the length of the agreement.

The renewal was reached five months before the previous three-year agreement was set to expire. When the previous agreement was reached in early 2012, Churchill was facing the prospect of losing a license for its account-wagering operation, twinspires.com, in California after state regulators took the stance that the company should be contributing to the Guild, as it had in the past.

The new agreement covers three tracks owned and operated by Churchill: Churchill Downs, Arlington Park outside Chicago, and Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans. The previous agreement also included funding from Calder Race Course, which was leased to the Stronach Group under an agreement that took effect at the beginning of July.