--- title: Horse Betting Has Moved Off the Track, and Churchill Downs Is Buying Back Full Control of United Tote description: Only 6.2 percent of US thoroughbred wagering is now placed at the track. Churchill Downs is taking back the 49 percent of United Tote it sold to NYRA. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) updated: 2026-07-30T05:32:12.789Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/churchill-downs-united-tote-full-ownership-off-track-betting image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/united-tote-g-series-wagering-terminal-68245.webp categories: Business content_type: News region: United States publication: Sovereign Magazine schema_type: Article --- Almost all betting on American horse racing now happens away from the racetrack. In 2000, 15.9 percent of wagering on thoroughbreds was placed at the track, according to The Jockey Club. By 2025 that share had fallen to 6.2 percent. On July 29, Churchill Downs Incorporated signed a definitive agreement to buy the 49 percent of United Tote Company it does not own from NYRA Content Management Solutions, a subsidiary of the New York Racing Association, returning the wagering technology company to full ownership. United Tote runs totalisator systems, the machines and software that accumulate wagers, calculate payoffs and display wagering data to bettors at racetracks, off-track betting facilities and other wagering operators. Churchill Downs says the purchase supports a long-term strategy of owning and vertically integrating the technologies and services behind pari-mutuel wagering, and strengthens its position as a business-to-business distributor of horse racing content. The price was not disclosed, and the transaction is expected to close by August 5. Churchill Downs sold that 49 percent interest to NYRA in April 2024, and NYRA agreed then to use United Tote for the pari-mutuel wagering systems at its racetracks and gaming operations. Alongside the buy-back, NYRA has agreed to extend that tote services agreement through 2035. NYRA is the not-for-profit franchised by New York State to run Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, and it owns NYRA Bets, a national deposit wagering platform available to customers in 38 states. In its quarterly filing on the same day, Churchill Downs noted that NYRA's interest carried embedded redemption features, including a put right, that were not exclusively within the company's control. That is why the stake sat outside permanent equity on the balance sheet. ## United Tote and AmTote Count Their Handle Differently United Tote says its systems process more than $5 billion a year in global pari-mutuel handle, and that they are used on many of the biggest days in the sport, among them the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders' Cup, the Bluegrass Stakes and the Arkansas Derby. AmTote, in the business since 1933 and now a 1/ST Technology company, says it processes over $18.7 billion in annual handle across pari-mutuel and fixed odds models, and describes itself as the largest pari-mutuel betting platform facilitator in North America. The two state their volumes on different bases, United Tote counting global pari-mutuel wagering alone and AmTote including fixed odds, so the shares cannot be read straight across. ## Nine Casinos Go Under Review on the Same Day Churchill Downs said on July 29 that it has completed a comprehensive review of its operational portfolio and long-term capital allocation priorities, and that it is exploring options to sell nine wholly owned regional gaming properties: Calder Casino in Florida, Terre Haute Casino Resort in Indiana, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Iowa, Oxford Casino Hotel in Maine, Ocean Downs Casino and Racetrack in Maryland, Harlow's Casino Resort and Spa and Riverwalk Casino Hotel in Mississippi, del Lago Resort and Casino in New York, and Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Pennsylvania. The company said it can give no assurance that the review will lead it to pursue a transaction, has set no timetable, and does not intend to provide updates unless disclosure becomes appropriate or is required by law. ## The Betting Pool Itself Is Shrinking American pari-mutuel wagering on thoroughbred racing came to [$11.04 billion in 2025](https://www.jockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=FB&area=8), down 2.0 percent on the year, according to The Jockey Club, whose totals cover wagering from all sources on race days carrying at least one thoroughbred race as reported by Equibase. Handle fell 3.3 percent in 2024 and 3.7 percent in 2023. In 2003 the figure was $15.18 billion. ## FAQ **Q: What is a totalisator?** A totalisator, or tote, is the system that accumulates wagers, calculates payoffs and displays wagering data to bettors at racetracks and off-track betting facilities. **Q: Who owns United Tote?** Churchill Downs Incorporated owns it in full once this transaction closes. Churchill Downs sold a 49 percent interest to the New York Racing Association in April 2024 and has now agreed to buy that stake back. **Q: What is pari-mutuel betting?** In pari-mutuel betting the stakes go into a pool, the operator calculates the payoffs from the pool once the wagering closes, and the bettors are paid from it rather than against fixed odds set in advance. Totalisator systems are what run those pools. **Q: How much is bet on American horse racing each year?** Pari-mutuel wagering on United States thoroughbred racing came to $11.04 billion in 2025, according to The Jockey Club, down from $15.18 billion in 2003. Off-track wagering accounted for about 94 percent of the 2025 total.