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The New York Racing Association received permission on Friday in U.S. bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York to pay its utility bills, according to Bill Nader, NYRA's senior vice president. NYRA, which filed for bankruptcy in late October, is next scheduled to appear in bankruptcy court this Friday. . . . Midwestern racing official Kenny Schoepf, 58, died of an apparent heart attack on Friday at his home in South Sioux City, Neb. Schoepf, who has been the identifier at Canterbury Park since the track's opening in 1985, also worked extensively as a racing official in Nebraska, and is the brother of Doug Schoepf, the director of racing at Canterbury. . . . Brent Stone has been named supervisor of Thoroughbred racing for the Ontario Racing Commission. Stone, who joined the ORC in 2000 and has served as assistant supervisor of Standardbred racing for the past four years, replaces the just retired Ed Hall.