Jersey racing group sues over bet losses

A New Jersey horse racing association filed a legal action against the four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA on Thursday, claiming the leagues cost one of the state’s racetracks more than $130 million in lost revenue by blocking legal sports betting.

The action filed by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association claims the leagues acted in bad faith when they sought a restraining order in 2014 to block Monmouth Park Racetrack from offering sports betting, because the pro leagues were actively promoting and endorsing businesses that made millions from fantasy sports games that rely on individual player performances.

The leagues and the NCAA sued then-Republican Gov. Chris Christie after he signed a law lifting bans on sports betting at casinos and racetracks.

The leagues also argued New Jersey’s law violated the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that barred states from authorizing sports betting. After a yearslong legal battle, the Supreme Court this month sided with New Jersey and struck down PASPA, writing that the law was unconstitutional.

The horsemen’s association’s filing claims Monmouth Park would have made $139 million in revenue from sports betting between November 2014, when a judge imposed a permanent injunction barring the state from offering sports betting, and this month’s Supreme Court ruling.