The major U.S. sports leagues, as well as the NCAA, are looking at millions – if not billions – of dollars in losses because of the coronavirus. The total amount of damage may never be accurately calculated, but whatever figures are presented as the leagues have been forced into suspension might need to have another $150 million tacked on. That’s how much a horseracing track in New Jersey wants the organizations to pony up, and the U.S. Supreme Court might determine next week whether or not it will hear the case.

Monmouth Park Racetrack felt it was being denied fair income when the leagues helped to block a newly-created sports gambling law in 2014. The track, with the help of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NJTHA), secured a $3.4-million bond from the leagues while New Jersey challenged their intervention. The bond was meant to serve as a guarantee to cover potential losses while the track was prevented from putting up lines on sports contests. As with any major legal case in the U.S., it would take years before the case could be decided, and an answer was provided only after the Supreme Court had abolished the misguided PASPA in 2018.

The sports leagues didn’t want to pay up, even though a federal appeals court sided with the NJTHA last year. However, long gone was the request for just $3.4 million – with a little extra thrown in for interest. The leagues had been so determined to keep sports gambling out of the Garden State that the horseman’s group now estimated its losses to be as much as $150 million. The two sides attempted to work out their differences and reach a settlement that would make everyone happy, but the attempt was futile.

If the leagues had simply reacted favorably to the bond, it could have cut its losses and moved on. However, the NJTHA enlisted the help of gaming research firm Eilers and Krejcik to try to calculate how much money it lost between May 2014 and May 2018, when the Supreme Court nixed PASPA, and the figure rose to $139.7 million. Since the two sides haven’t been able to come up with a mutually-beneficial agreement, the leagues asked the Supreme Court to weigh in, arguing that the NJTHA doesn’t have legal grounds to demand the amount.