Voters in a northern county of Florida on Tuesday passed a measure that will allow a barrel-racing facility to operate slot machines.

The facility, Gretna Racing, is approximately 25 miles west of Tallahassee, near the border with Georgia, a state in which casino gambling is illegal. Gretna recently held the first-ever parimutuel barrel-racing meet in Florida, under a permit issued late last year by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Racing.

Trainer Tom Amoss was fined $2,500 by Kentucky stewards in January after a horse he trains tested positive for a prohibited amount of the muscle relaxant methocarbamol, the trainer’s third positive in about a year.

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board approved a rule on Wednesday requiring raceday testing of jockeys for alcohol impairment, joining a number of other states with similar rules.

The rule will require riders to take breathalyzer tests prior to race cards. Any jockey whose breathalyzer reading meets or exceeds 0.05 will be considered impaired, prohibited from riding that day, and subjected to fines or suspensions.

It may soon be possible to buy into a 20-horse racing stable for the price of a pizza.

That’s the plan envisioned by Frank Stronach, the owner and breeder who last year took possession of a half-dozen racetracks previously owned by a publicly traded company he controlled. In registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed late in December, Stronach outlined a plan to offer shares in six racehorse-ownership companies for $10 each, lowering the barrier to a level never before seen in the U.S.

Scioto Downs, a Columbus, Ohio, harness track owned by MTR Gaming, was granted a temporary slot-machine license on Wednesday by the Ohio Lottery and plans to open a casino by June.

The license was awarded after Scioto submitted a $10 million licensing fee to the lottery, which was given the authority to grant casino licenses to seven state racetracks by an executive order issued by Gov. Ted Strickland last year. Opponents of gambling have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine’s Summer Stakes for 2-year-olds and Natalma Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, both one-mile turf races which have been part of the Breeder’s Cup challenge series, have been elevated to Grade 2 status for 2012.

The Hendrie, a 6 1/2-furlong stakes for fillies and mares at Woodbine, also was bumped up from Grade 3 to Grade 2 following a recent meeting of the Jockey Club of Canada’s graded stakes committee.

The New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Tuesday that the New York Racing Association was projected to lose $19.7 million on its racing operations in 2012, a contention disputed by the racing association, which said it projected a net income of $1.4 million from racing operations in 2012.

The New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. has donated $10,000 to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a national charity that cares for 96 retired racehorses in the Empire State.

In addition to the NYTB donation, new board member Michael Lischin of Dutchess Views Farm also has donated $5,000. NYTB executive director Jeffrey Cannizzo said the breeders group also is “working with the wide variety of industry organizations in the state to secure long-term funding plans that will protect the future of retired racehorses in New York.”

ARCADIA, Calif. - The California Horse Racing Board on Thursday delayed deciding on a rule change that would allow a claim to be voided when a horse is severely injured during or after a race.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a multibillion-dollar convention center at Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, but he and his staff have yet to discuss the impact that such a project would have on the track’s racing operations and the New York racing circuit, according to officials who have discussed the proposal with its supporters.