Churchill Downs, the race track and gambling company based in Louisville released its fourth quarter results today and showed that it is shifting away from horseracing and there online gambling site Is leading the way.
Though results for the quarter were a net loss but it was sufficiently smaller than the same quarter year to date. Net earnings were down for the year by 3% and earnings from racing operations were flat for the year. The growth came from TwinSpires.com, Churchills online advance-deposit wagering platform.
The online business grew 23% and the gaming grew a remarkable 56% and put together the two gambling sectors top the revenue generated by Churchills racing segment.
Churchill president and CEO Robert L. Evans praised the online and gambling growth but conceded the racing end of the business still had its problems,
“We still face a number of challenges as we work to improve the results of our racing operations, including nationwide declines in handle and intense competition for racehorses with tracks that are able to subsidize their purses with alternative gaming revenues.”
Churchills online site TwinSpires.com is currently the only legal way for residents of the United States to bet on horse racing. The site is the end result of the acquisition and integration of Yourbet.com which the bought in June.