The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA) is still working on getting what it thinks it is owed by the NCAA and the four major professional sports organizations in the USA. The continuing argument is over a $3.4 million dollar debt for delaying Monmouth Park from operating sports betting for a number of years.
The history of the debt is long and complicated. Back In January of 2012, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation allowing sports betting in New Jersey after the gaming initiative passed a voter referendum earlier. The bill allowed sports betting to take place legally at horse racetracks and casinos in Atlantic City.
The legal battle established by the leagues and the NCAA stalled the action and was decided by District Court Judge Michael Shipp in 2013 who ruled with the leagues that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) which banned sports betting in the US excepting Nevada superseded the New Jersey legislation.
Not to be sidetracked Monmouth Park moved forward with building a William Hill branded sports book. In October of 2014, Shipp issued a temporary one-month restraining order that blocked the launch of the facility.
The leagues put a $3.4 million bond in to secure losses the William Hill sports book might incur during restraining order time period. When the order expired, the judge voided New Jersey’s sports betting law. Then in 2014 New Jersey challenged the PASPA and finally in 2017 the Supreme Court agreed to hear the challenge which resulted almost a year later in a decision stating the PASPA was deemed unconstitutional.
The NJTHA then sought to recoup losses incurred over the six year period. Earlier this month, District Court Judge Freda Wolfson denied the NJTHA suit which sought $140 million in damages. The judge did say she would consider later whether the association was entitled to the $3.4 million bond posted in 2014.
