Churchill Seeks Bigger Slice Of Online Betting

BRUCE SCHREINER

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs Inc., which counts the Kentucky Derby in its stable of businesses, staked out a bigger share of the Internet wagering sector with its deal to buy online rival Youbet.com.

The racetrack operator, steeped in racing history with the Run for the Roses held each May at its namesake Louisville track, is betting that online wagering will keep up a fast pace in an otherwise sluggish industry.

The deal announced Wednesday was valued at about $126.8 million.

It would position Churchill at the front of the pack in online and phone betting, called advance deposit wagers, or ADWs, by consolidating its own TwinSpires.com account-wagering site with Youbet.

Churchill Downs shares fell 82 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $30.75 in trading Thursday.

At a time when on-track wagering on live racing is relatively flat, Internet wagering will account for nearly 14 percent of all betting on U.S. thoroughbred racing in 2009, up from about 10 percent last year, Churchill executives said in a conference call Thursday to discuss the acquisition.