Court rules Churchill Downs Inc. can convert Calder license

A Florida state appeals court has ruled that Churchill Downs Inc. can convert its racing license at Calder Race Course in Miami to a jai-alai license without losing the ability to operate slot machines at the property.

The appeals court ruling, issued on Wednesday, is a forward step for Churchill as it plans to make the conversion after its current lease of the Calder property to The Stronach Group expires in 2020. However, horsemen’s groups are pursuing a separate legal case to dispute the awarding of a “summer” jai-alai permit to Calder last year, and that case will have a hearing before an administrative law judge late in October.

The Stronach Group, which owns and operates Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., has been holding approximately 40 live racing days a year at Calder under an agreement that sends approximately $7 million in money from Calder’s slot machines to purses. The lease agreement was reached in 2015 and runs through the end of next year.

The Wednesday ruling upholds a decision last year by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation that would have allowed the conversion of the gambling license. Groups representing Florida horsemen and breeders appealed that decision.

Churchill has argued that a 2004 constitutional amendment in Florida allowing for some types of casino gambling at parimutuel facilities did not constrain the company from seeking a different parimutuel permit. The court agreed.

“Contrary to the appellants’ arguments, nothing in the plain language of [existing law] requires a facility to continue the same form of pari-mutuel wagering activity that originally qualified it for a slot machine license,” the court ruled. “Nor does this statute tie an ‘eligible facility’ to the same type of racing or gaming as it had when the constitutional amendment was approved.”

Stephen Screnchi, the president of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which was one of the two groups to appeal the case, said on Thursday that the FHBPA has not decided on a course of action on the ruling issued on Wednesday due to the upcoming hearing in October.

“This ruling dealt with the issues of law, not the issues of fact, and we are confident we have a good case in October,” said Screnchi, an attorney.

The race meet at Calder conducted by The Stronach Group – called Gulfstream Park West – is basically a made-for-simulcast production. The grandstand and part of the barn area at the track have been demolished. But horsemen were fearful of losing the slot-machine subsidy from Churchill, leading to the conflict over Churchill’s plans to convert to a jai-alai facility.

Last year, Churchill told the Department of Business and Professional Regulations that it intended to hold 88 jai alai “events” at the facility if its plan was approved.

Officials of Churchill Downs Inc. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.