The Jockey Club on Wednesday officially announced the launch of its two social-networking games, projects that were recommendations of a report the organization commissioned last year examining ways for racing to market to new racing fans.

Voters in Maryland will be asked this fall whether they approve of a plan to allow a sixth casino in the state and the addition of table games to the state’s casino properties.

The referendum will be added to the November ballot after the state legislature passed a bill calling for the expansion at a special session this week. The bill was signed on Wednesday by Gov. Martin O’Malley, who called for the special session.

The Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund has donated $70,000 to the Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation for the exclusive purpose of assisting jockeys and exercise riders, the two organizations announced on Friday. The MacBeth Fund, which was started in 1987 to assist injured riders, ceased operating at the end of 2011, and the $70,000 contribution represents its remaining funds.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Racing industry officials defended the revenue shares that racetracks, horsemen, and breeders receive from casinos on Wednesday, a day after the state comptroller released a report contending that the revenue shares had not resulted in any gains in attendance and handle at New York tracks.

Industry officials made their comments at the annual Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law conference.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Racing needs to devise an “industry-wide approach” to funding and operating post-retirement programs for racehorses so that all facets of the sport contribute to the effort, several officials who spoke at the Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law conference on Tuesday said.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The racing industry’s effort to police and enforce its medication rules could benefit by the adoption of a top-down structure employed by the countries that participate in the Olympic Games, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency said Sunday at the Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing.

New Jersey’s newest offtrack wagering facility – the luxurious, 25,000-square foot Winners in Bayonne – opened last month with the hype that it could replicate the $5 million of revenue produced annually by Favorites, a similar facility in nearby Woodbridge.

But on a recent weekday afternoon the 150 televisions outnumbered the patrons at Winners, where handle has not lived up to the expectations of owner Jeff Gural, who also operates Meadowlands racetrack.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Jockey Club is expected to make an additional push for the adoption of a proposed set of tougher medication rules and penalties as part of its presentations Sunday during the organization’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing.

The 2013 Breeders’ Cup will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California, and the marquee $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic will be broadcast in prime time on the East Coast, the organization announced on Thursday.

The selection of Santa Anita Park will mark the seventh time that the track has been picked to host the event and the second time that the warm-weather track has been selected to host consecutive editions. Santa Anita will host this year’s two-day event on Nov. 2-3.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley called a special session of the state legislature on Tuesday in order to push a plan to legalize table games at the state’s casinos and cut the casinos’ tax rates.

The legislation would also add approvals for a sixth casino in the state, to be located in Prince George’s County, either at a harbor site or at Rosecroft Raceway, the harness track owned by major casino operator Penn National Gaming Inc.