Two weeks after Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) threatened to pull out of racing at Fair Grounds in New Orleans and one week after the gaming company extracted purse-cut concessions from the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (LAHBPA), the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) on Tuesday approved 76 November-through-March race dates for the 2025-26 meet at historic New Orleans track.
CDI had informed the commission by letter June 9 it wanted to voluntarily surrender its Fair Grounds license because a March state Supreme Court decision and two recent pieces of legislation, all related to gaming, were allegedly “adverse and harmful to the economic interests of Fair Grounds.”
Non-public negotiations involving state leaders and the LHBPA's agreement to “slight” purse reductions subsequently resulted in CDI walking back its threat to close.
As TDN's Bill Finley reported June 17, “One factor that may have caused CDI to strike a more conciliatory tone was action taken last week by the New Orleans City Council and state lawmakers to ensure that the property could not be developed for other uses.”
Anthony McAuley of the New Orleans digital news site NOLA.com reported that Cathy Beeding, the Fair Grounds general manager, told the LSRC at the June 24 “emergency” meeting that the upcoming racing season would begin as previously planned, on Nov. 20.
“We're just happy there's going to be a racing season this year,” Beeding told NOLA.com.
LSRC chair Edward Koehl thanked Gov. Jeff Landry for his help in resolving the issue. After the meeting, he underscored to NOLA.com that the state made no concessions of any kind to CDI.
Louisiana State Racing Commission approves dates for horse racing at Fair Grounds | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/3KWctSMivv
— wdsu (@wdsu) June 24, 2025
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