Tomorrow marks the first Saturday in May, so the sporting world will turn its attention to Louisville, Kentucky for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Perhaps $200 million will be wagered on “the fastest two minutes in sports.” And while the Derby is “the most storied race of them all,” West v. Kentucky Horse Racing Comm., 972 F.3d 881, 883 (2020), Churchill Downs will play host to 26 more horse races this weekend—on all of which wagers will be placed. The proliferation of sports gambling in conjunction with this weekend’s run for the roses makes Judge Cole’s opinion for Sixth Circuit in Mattera v. Baffert all too timely.
This week in Mattera, the Court clarified that, under Kentucky’s law of pari-mutuel race betting, the “first order of finish marked ‘official’ counts for wagering purposes.” That means, if a horse wins, places, or shows—finishes in the top three—only to be later disqualified and retroactively scratched from the race, bettors on the pre-disqualification finish are in luck. “A subsequent change in the order of finish may affect the purse and the history books,” the Court explained, “but it will not impact pari-mutuel wagering.”
The 147th running of the Kentucky Derby in 2021 brought these rules to life. Thoroughbred Medina Spirit led from wire to wire. The race stewards marked the official finishing order as: (1) Medina Spirit, (2) Mandaloun, (3) Hot Rod Charlie, (4) Essentially Quality. Wagers were paid out accordingly. But several months later, the Kentucky stewards disqualified Medina Spirit (posthumously) and crowned Mandaloun the winner. Medina Spirit tested positive for a performance enhancing substance after the race.