Churchill Downs Inc. had net income last year of $249.1 million on net revenue of $1.60 billion, a sharp turnaround from financial results of 2020, when the company’s casino and live-racing businesses were heavily impacted by disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to financial statements released on Wednesday. Churchill had strong growth in its casino-gaming sector, including at its facilities in Kentucky that operate historical horse-racing machines, according to the financial documents. But revenue growth at its account-wagering operation, twinspires.com, stalled “as a portion of our patrons returned to wagering at brick-and-mortar facilities,” according to statements accompanying the company’s financial documents. :: Serious horseplayers use serious products. Get DRF's premium past performances, now free for the first time Total net revenue was up $540 million for the year, as business rebounded after long strings of closures at the company’s casinos and racetracks in 2020 because of coronavirus mandates. Revenue for live and historical racing jumped from $169.6 million in 2020 to $409.1 million last year, while revenue for its casino division – excluding the Kentucky casino facilities, which exclusively operate HRMs – jumped from $435.3 million in 2020 to $695.4 million. In 2020, Churchill Downs posted a rare annual loss, of $81.9 million. At twinspires.com, horse-racing revenue dropped from $403.2 million in 2020 to $396.9 million last year, according to the financial statements. Wagering from its on-line operations in sports betting and casino-type betting jumped from $11.3 million in 2020 to $34.8 million in 2021. On a conference call on Thursday morning with financial analysts, Bill Carstanjen, Churchill’s chief executive officer, said that the company has decided to exit the on-line sports wagering business, citing stiff competition in the marketplace and the high costs of attracting customers. Many large sports-betting operators are currently attracting customers with high-dollar incentives.  However, Carstanjen said that the company is “absolutely committed to and excited about” its on-line horse-racing business, citing its predictable margins and resilience through the pandemic. In contrast to the fixed-odds model of sports betting, horse racing uses a parimutuel model, which guarantees operators a return on every dollar wagered.  “Where we see the opportunity for our company right now is twinspires horse racing,” Carstanjen said. “It’s an excellent business, and in this current environment it’s holding up very well.” As a whole, betting on horse races in the U.S. shifted sharply to the on-line market in 2020 as racetracks closed and off-track betting locations shut down. Handle at most account-wagering companies skyrocketed during the first year of the pandemic, with the numbers dropping off last year as bettors had more opportunities to gamble in-person at tracks and OTBs. Churchill had $355.6 million in cash at the end of 2021, according to its balance sheet, up from $121.0 million at the end of 2020. Its long-term debt at the end of last year stood at $668.6 million, up from $530.5 million at the end of 2020. Although the Kentucky Derby returned to its traditional date in 2021 after being run in September in 2020, on-track attendance at the event was limited to 50,000. Churchill announced four new capital projects at the Louisville track earlier this year and has also begun plans to build a casino at Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky and in downtown Louisville, along with an expansion of its casino at Trackside training center in Louisville. Last year, Churchill announced that it had reached a deal to sell its Arlington Park property outside of Chicago to the Chicago Bears, which has expressed dissatisfaction with its lease with the city for Soldier Field. At the time of the announcement, Churchill had said it expected the deal to close in the first quarter of 2023. On the conference call on Thursday, Carstanjen said that the company expects the deal to close “in the first half of 2023.”