Churchill Downs Inc. gives up racing at Florida track

Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc. confirmed the agreement Wednesday to lease racing at its South Florida track to its cross-town competitor. The deal is intended to be a brokered peace with fellow racetrack conglomerate The Stronach Group, and will divest Churchill of its interest in the HRTV cable channel.

Financial terms of the deal between Churchill, which owns Calder Casino & Race Course in Miami Gardens, and The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, were not disclosed.

The deal that runs through 2020 is subject to regulatory approval, but requires Stronach to run the minimum 40 days required by Florida law for Churchill to keep the Calder casino. About 430 stalls in the stable area will remain open all year at Calder, with Stronach paying "substantially all of the direct and indirect costs associated with these activities and receive the associated revenues."

In so doing, Churchill gives up on the nearly year-old battle with Stronach where both Calder and Gulfstream raced year round.

"Without this arrangement, there is no other apparent, viable long-term solution to preserving racing in South Florida on a year-round basis," Churchill President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Castanjen said in a statement. Carstanjen. The transaction makes sense for South Florida, he said, because of a limited supply of thoroughbred horses racing in the region.

With the deal, Churchill and Stronach also announced Churchill will divest of its ownership share of the HRTV racing channel it owned with Stronach and the companies will extend current contracts to provide each other with races from their tracks for simulcasting and account wagering.

Churchill's exit from HRTV is expected early next year.

The lease, along with the other agreements, "sets the stage for a mutually productive working relationship going forward," Carstanjen said.