Basis Of Presentation (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015 D	Mar. 31, 2014 D	Dec. 31, 2014
Promotional Allowance [Line Items]
Research and development	$ 10,232,000us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	$ 0us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Live Racing Days	57chdn_LiveRacingDays	97chdn_LiveRacingDays
Promotional Allowances	7,100,000us-gaap_PromotionalAllowances	7,600,000us-gaap_PromotionalAllowances
Estimated Cost Of Providing Promotional Allowances	2,000,000	2,400,000
Customer Loyalty Program Liability, Current	1,700,000		1,700,000
TwinSpires [Member]
Promotional Allowance [Line Items]
Promotional Allowances	2,800,000	2,700,000
Racing Segment [Member]
Promotional Allowance [Line Items]
Promotional Allowances	100,000	100,000
Casino Segment [Member]
Promotional Allowance [Line Items]
Promotional Allowances	$ 4,200,000	$ 4,700,000

- Definition

The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.

+ References+ Details