Brooks v. Chicago Downs Association, Inc.

Eric Brooks, Jeffrey Yass, and Kenneth Brodie (plaintiffs) formed a partnership to pool assets and place bets at horseracing tracks. The plaintiffs have described themselves as expert handicappers. Chicago Downs Association, Inc. (defendant) operates Sportsman’s Park, which conducts horseracing events. Sportsman’s offers a special type of bet called the Super Bet. To win the Super Bet, a person has to correctly choose the first two finishers of the fifth and sixth races and the first three finishers of the seventh race. If no one wins the Super Bet, the total amount wagered on it is rolled over and added to the potential winnings for the next racing date. On one occasion, the plaintiffs won the Super Bet, winning $600,000 on a $60,000 wager. The plaintiffs returned to Sportsman’s on another date and attempted to place a $250,000 wager in the Super Bet. At that point, the Chicago Downs Association ordered the plaintiffs to leave and informed the plaintiffs that they had been barred from attending all future racing events at Sportsman’s. The plaintiffs sued the Chicago Downs Association and sought an injunction prohibiting the Chicago Downs Association from barring them from entering Sportsman’s. The Chicago Downs Association filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that it has the absolute right to exclude anyone from its premises for any reason except for race, creed, color, national origin, or sex. The trial court granted the motion, and the plaintiffs appealed.