Racing will go on as usual this fall and winter at the New Orleans Fair Grounds despite the race track's owner threatening to shut down operations at the site.
The Louisiana Racing Commission has approved the race track's thoroughbred season, which runs from November 20 through March 22 after Churchill Downs, Incorporated, retreated from its previous position that it would have to close the race track. That threat came after the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the race track's historic horse racing machines needed to be approved by voters before they could go live.
So what's next for the Fair Grounds? According to one analyst, it's anyone's guess.
"This is a complete climbdown by the Fair Grounds' owner, Churchill Downs," NOLA.com reporter Tony McAuley said, adding that Churchill Downs' attempt to hold the state hostage by demanding a public subsidy failed after Governor Jeff Landry and other officials balked at the demand.
McAuley says Churchill Downs could seek voter approval for those machines.
"They would have opposition here from the truck stop operators who were behind the original lawsuit here anyway because they had been losing business to these HHR machines," McAuley said. "It'll be a long, cumbersome process, but it's really the only thing that's open to them at this point.
However, McAuley says Churchill Downs might revisit the option of selling the Fair Grounds if the company loses substantial revenues from being forced to shut down its historic horse racing machines.
"At the moment, that's off the table," McAuley said. "What we're going to see over the next few months, because they're a public company, we can see on their books how much it really hits their bottom line. If it's taken a big bite out of it, perhaps they could sell it in the future."
And if Churchill Downs decides to sell the Fair Grounds, McAuley says a local billionaire is waiting in the wings to purchase the venue.
"And we now know that Gayle Benson would be an interested buyer," McAuley said.