Charles “Stormy” Bidwell Jr., a member of an influential sporting family from Chicago and the former owner and president of Chicago’s defunct Sportsman’s Park, died on Nov. 3 in Northfield, Illinois, according to his family and news reports. Bidwell Jr. was 97.
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Total commingled wagering on Thoroughbred races at U.S. racetracks in October rose 9 percent compared to the same month last year, but the result was heavily skewed by the inclusion this year of the Breeders’ Cup’s Friday card on Oct. 31.
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Total commingled betting on the nine Breeders’ Cup races held on Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Southern California was up 6 percent compared to wagering on the same nine races last year.
AmTote International and Elite Turf Club, two companies owned by 1/ST Racing and Gaming, are the first companies to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed last Friday. The suit alleges that racetracks and bet-processing companies have conspired “to divert money in the betting pools” from everyday players to the CAW groups.
Zvi Kriple, a trainer based in Ohio, has been banned by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority for two years following an investigation that concluded a horse in his care died from colic at Belterra Park near Cincinnati in April of this year without being treated by a veterinarian.
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Criticism of the role played by computer-assisted wagering teams in the parimutuel pools has once again reached a fever pitch, spurred by late odds changes at the recently concluded Keeneland meet, posts on influential social-media accounts, and a longshot class-action lawsuit filed Oct. 24.
A New York law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal district court alleging that companies in racing such as Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association have engaged in a criminal scheme to conspire with the operators of computer-assisted wagering teams to defraud other bettors.
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Paco Lopez, the jockey who was leading the U.S. in wins at the time he was suspended in late September for six months, has been named to ride horses on the Thursday and Friday cards at Delta Downs in Louisiana, according to Equibase records.
Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, British Columbia, saw its year-over-year handle drop from nearly $21.5 million in 2024 to just over $17.5 million in 2025, according to Daily Racing Form statistics.
A list distributed to Southern California horsemen on Wednesday shows more than 140 fillies and mares who would be eligible for one of the new “ratings” handicap races that Santa Anita added to its overnight for the Oct. 24 card.
