A study paid for by the exchange-betting pioneer Betfair has largely confirmed what the company has said in support of its efforts to launch betting exchanges in the United States.

The Jockeys’ Guild and the Colorado Horse Racing Association have reached an agreement that will raise losing mount fees at Colorado racetracks to a range of $50 to $110, depending on the purse of the race, according to the guild. The previous scale for losing mount fees was $40 to $105.

Battle lines are re-forming over the race-day use of the diuretic furosemide to treat bleeding in the lungs, 16 years after the last U.S. racing jurisdiction legalized the drug.

Breeders’ Cup Ltd. had total revenue of $50.1 million in 2010, a sharp increase over revenue of $43.6 million in 2009, largely on higher fees from its year-end event, held last year at Churchill Downs, according to financial statements released late on Thursday.

Revenue from the year-end event was $27.9 million, up from $20.2 million in 2009, when the event was held at Santa Anita Park in Southern California. The event is also scheduled to be held at Churchill Downs this year.

The Jockey Club would support an initiative proposed by the Association of Racing Commissioners International to eliminate the use of raceday medications within the next five years, according to a statement released on Monday quoting the organization’s chairman, Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps.

“We have often voiced concern and we sincerely believe that the overuse of medication endangers our human and equine athletes, threatens the integrity of our sport and erodes consumer confidence in our game,” Phipps said.

Wagering on U.S. horse races continued to plunge in March of this year when compared with the same month last year, dropping nearly 10 percent, or $100 million, even as purses rose significantly because of takeout increases in California and new casino subsidies in Florida.

Wagering in March was $899.3 million, down from $998.7 million in March of last year, according to figures released on Monday by Equibase, continuing a long stream of month-to-month declines affecting horse racing. The decline was exacerbated in part by a 4.2 percent reduction in race days during the month.

An Ontario court ruled on Friday that a plan approved by shareholders of MI Developments earlier this week to cede the company’s racing assets to its chairman was "fair and reasonable," according to the company.

A 2.75 percent tax on purse winnings at New York tracks has been removed from the state’s budget negotiations, according to a representative of New York’s horsemen and another state official.

New York racing officials had lobbied hard to get the tax removed from the negotiations. The tax was initially proposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a way to raise additional funding for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, which regulates racing and gambling in the state.

A bill that would allow the owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course to use slot-machine subsidies for the tracks’ operating expenses passed in the Maryland House of Delegates on Monday and was sent to the Senate.

The Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee was scheduled to consider the bill on Wednesday. The bill has the support of the state’s racing industry and Gov. Martin O’Malley, who first offered to allow the tracks to use the casino subsidy for operating expenses in an agreement brokered in December that would allow for 146 live racing dates at the two tracks in 2011.

Shareholders of MI Developments on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a plan that will allow its chairman and chief executive, Frank Stronach, to swap his supervoting shares for all of the company’s racing and gambling assets, including Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park.