Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Gaming Control Board suffered a setback in court on Wednesday when a judge issued a preliminary injunction allowing TwinSpires to continue accepting advance-deposit wagers (ADW) on horse races taking place outside the state.
Nessel and the MGCB ordered TwinSpires and similar operators to stop accepting bets late in 2024. Every operator complied except TwinSpires, which persisted, arguing that the demand was unlawful. State gaming authorities reinstated ADW in early 2025, but singled out TwinSpires for license revocation as punishment for ignoring the order.
Churchill Downs Incorporated, the operator of Twinspires, quickly filed a suit to block the ruling. Judge Hala Y. Jarbou of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan agreed with Churchill Downs. As a result, TwinSpires can resume operations and also accept ADW while the legal drama plays out. The Jarbou preliminary injunction takes force while the legal battle continues.
Odds appear good for TwinSpires
Interstate parimutuel wagering on horse races is legal under federal law. However, Michigan requires racebooks to be locally licensed and made those licenses contingent on continued live horse racing in the state. TwinSpires maintains that although it obtained a Michigan license, it never truly needed one due to federal laws. Now that Michigan is seeking to strip it of its license, TwinSpires hopes to persuade the court that the licensing regime was illegtimiate to begin with.
In federal court, one of the requirements for the issuance of a preliminary injunction is that the court believes the plaintiff (in this case Churchill Downs) is likely to win the case.
So, as well as a short-term victory for TwinSpires, the preliminary injunction bodes well for its chances of prevailing in the end. As a result, Nessel and the MGCB will likely need to refine their case if they hope to persuade the court that Michigan is within its rights to strip TwinSpires of its license.
