U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan paved the way for a $141 million windfall to Illinois race tracks and horse owners when she denied the request of the state’s casino companies to continue holding the funds in escrow.
The funds, earmarked for the racing industry pursuant to a 2006 law, had been collecting in the escrow account for nearly five years. The law required the four biggest casinos to divert three percent of their earnings to the race tracks to bolster that industry, which was suffering as a result of competition from the casinos. The racing industry will use the cash to boost purses to winning owners in an attempt at reviving the horse racing business in Illinois.
The money was released at midnight on Monday, August 8. The casinos have a separate lawsuit pending in federal court. Read more details in Kurt Erickson’s article in the Southern Springfield Bureau.
Posted August 10, 2011
