The national law firm Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit Friday against major entities in the American horse racing industry accusing them of colluding to “destroy value for retail bettors” in a rigged system that revolves around so-called computer-assisted wagering (CAW) platforms.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names several pillars of the horse racing industry as defendants: the Stronach Group, the Canadian owners of racetracks in California, Florida, and Maryland; Churchill Downs, the publicly traded company best known for owning the Churchill Downs Racetrack where the Kentucky Derby is held; the New York Racing Association (NYRA), the nonprofit that runs thoroughbred racing at New York’s three major tracks; AmTote International, a subsidiary of the Stronach Group that acts as clearinghouse of data for wagering pools at racetracks; and United Tote, another data clearinghouse owned by Churchill Downs and NYRA.
