HISA Orders Churchill Downs to Pay Unpaid 2025 Fees or Face Racing Ban

A three-member HISA board panel issued an order on March 16 directing Churchill Downs Inc. to pay its unpaid 2025 assessment fees plus interest within 10 days, setting a March 26 deadline that carries a stark consequence: if CDI misses it, four of its racetracks will be prohibited from conducting any Covered Horserace on their next scheduled race days, effectively cutting off the off-track and online wagering that drives modern racing revenue.

The four tracks named in the order are Churchill Downs in Louisville, Turfway Park in Florence, Ellis Park in Henderson, and Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pennsylvania. According to HISA, CDI was the only racetrack company covered by the authority that paid nothing in 2025 fees across its entire portfolio.

The dollar figures in the order depend on which methodology you use, and that disagreement is the whole ballgame here. HISA maintains CDI owes $6,325,120 in 2025 assessment fees under the authority's preferred formula, which accounts for both racing starts and purse money. But rather than demand the full amount, the panel ordered payment of $2,408,501 plus $120,132 in interest, representing what HISA described as CDI's own preferred calculation based purely on the number of racing starts. HISA framed this as a "two-phase approach meant to give CDI every benefit of the doubt," reserving the right to pursue the remaining balance if it prevails in CDI's pending federal lawsuit. Thoroughbred Daily News reported a different figure from the panel documents, citing an order of $5,024,848.56 plus $250,631.77 in interest; WAVE reported the total as "over $5.25 million." The discrepancy reflects the layered methodology dispute at the core of this case, and the definitive figures will require the full panel order text to reconcile.

The underlying fight traces back to how HISA calculates the fees racetracks must pay to fund the national regulatory body. The original assessment methodology, established when HISA was created, was based only on starts. It was later adjusted to incorporate purse money as well, a change CDI challenged in court as invalid. In 2023 and 2024, CDI paid fees calculated on the starts-only basis. In 2025, it paid nothing. HISA's February complaint accused CDI of "freeloading" and alleged the company had not remitted "one cent" of what it owed for safety inspections and drug testing at the four tracks.

CDI filed a federal lawsuit against HISA in 2024 challenging the authority's fee structure and legal standing. That case remains pending, with a federal court hearing in Louisville scheduled for March 19. CDI's response to the panel order made no pretense of softening its position.

"HISA continues to act in bad faith by issuing its most recent Order mere days before a Federal Court hearing on these very issues," CDI said. "Instead of focusing on its mission to safeguard horse racing, HISA is wasting resources on blatantly unconstitutional and harmful actions. Churchill Downs remains steadfast in its longstanding commitment to the health and welfare of our equine athletes. We continue to believe HISA has exceeded the authority granted to it by Congress, and we remain confident in our position."

The practical stakes are significant. If CDI does not pay or appeal by March 26, simulcasting from its tracks to out-of-state locations would be prohibited starting March 27, according to Thoroughbred Daily News. WHAS11 flagged the most visible potential casualty: the Kentucky Derby itself, noting that barring simulcasting would leave only in-person betting available at Churchill Downs for the sport's most-watched event.

CDI has two options inside the 10-day window: pay the assessed amount or file an appeal. The three-member panel has already determined the authority can seek partial payment while CDI's federal lawsuit remains unresolved. Gary Palmisano Jr., Churchill's executive director of racing, said in a February 19 statement that the company was "fully committed to the safety and integrity of Thoroughbred racing." How that commitment squares with refusing to pay a single dollar of regulatory fees in 2025 is now a question a federal court may have to answer before Derby week.