Encore Calls RaceTech Litigation 'Meritless'

Encore Racing Based Games, the new company providing historical racing games at Kentucky Downs, says the track's former historical racing provider, RaceTech, is engaged in anti-competitive practices.

Encore said it has formally responded to breach of contract litigation brought in late June by RaceTech against Encore and Kentucky Downs in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

"It is unfortunate that RaceTech has engaged in anti-competitive practices and has filed numerous meritless lawsuits against Encore, all in an effort to maintain their monopoly," commented Encore president Jeremy Stein.  

Before the breach of contract lawsuit, RaceTech—the first company to offer historical racing through its Instant Racing games—earlier this year filed litigation claiming patent infringement by the track and Encore.

In its defense to RaceTech's lawsuits, Encore said that in the nearly three years of development prior to launch in April, 2015, Encore undertook a rigorous and thorough legal and design process to create a state-of-the-art historical horse racing system from the ground up.  As a result, several key features of the Encore system include: 

• All Encore games rely solely on the results of horse races, and not on any random draws, random number generation or other random elements to determine the outcome of wagers;

• The Encore system is strictly pari-mutuel, and does not rely on a "house-banked" system to maintain pari-mutuel wagering pool integrity; and

• All Encore games are based on a pre-existing ARCI approved pari-mutuel wager.

Encore filed a counterclaim alleging that RaceTech violated antitrust laws and engaged in a conspiracy with other named entities to deprive Encore of access to historical horseracing data.  "RaceTech engaged in anti-competitive behavior in violation of the Sherman Act and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, and we are asking the Court to hold them accountable for those actions," concluded Stein.