This year’s Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has been canceled, but the organizer of the conference will instead begin showing weekly seminars on relevant topics beginning May 12, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced Wednesday.
U.S. racetracks held only 746 races in April, a decline of 71 percent compared to the same month last year, while per-race handle at the few tracks allowed to operate in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic soared 164 percent in the month, according to statistics released Tuesday by Equibase.
A consortium of racetracks and racing organizations formed last year to address safety concerns about the sport has launched a tool on its website tracking the members’ progress toward the goals set by the group.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has appointed a new chairman to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and made three other new appointments to the regulatory agency, according to a series of executive orders issued by his office near the end of April.
Steve Wren, a retired trainer who was a fixture at his hometrack of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., died on April 28, according to a notice from the Arkansas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Wren was 67.
West Virginia’s two Thoroughbred tracks will be allowed to conduct spectator-free racing beginning on May 14, the state’s governor said on Thursday night as part of a relaxation of directives intended to constrain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
R.D. Hubbard, a lifelong owner and breeder who owned Hollywood Park and Ruidoso Downs, died Wednesday in Palm Desert, Calif., his family said.
Opponents and supporters of medication changes in Kentucky, including a potential ban on the raceday use of furosemide in 2-year-old races later this year, voiced familiar arguments during a videoconference hearing held by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Wednesday morning.
NBC Sports will continue to simulcast TVG’s production of live horse racing coverage through the end of May, the two companies announced Wednesday.
Tom Sage, executive director of the Nebraska Racing Commission, has been named chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, the organization announced Tuesday.
