Total handle on Keeneland's races during the track's 17-day fall meet was down 8.7 percent compared with wagering during the fall meet last year, according to figures provided by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Santa Anita showed growth in key attendance and handle categories at the autumn meeting that ended on Sunday.
After months of discussions, at times heated, racing dates for the 2018 season in Northern California were finalized at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting.
Woodford Reserve, a bourbon brand of the Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp., will become the new presenting sponsor next year of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs under a five-year agreement reached between Churchill and the liquor company.
Delaware Park wagering increased 1.9 percent this year from 2016, with the meet handling a total of $95.77 million, up from $93.95 million a year ago. Both meets consisted of 81 live dates.
Beverly Lewis, who with her late husband Bob campaigned Hall of Famer Serena’s Song and the dual classic-winning champions Silver Charm and Charismatic, died Oct. 20 at age 90.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a schedule of racing dates for next year that looks nearly identical to the schedule for the past two years.
The sale of Ruidoso Downs closed Thursday, according to an announcement from the New Mexico track on Friday. The transaction includes the purchase of an onsite casino and the Ruidoso Horse Sale Co.
Trainer Jimmy Iselin is to begin serving a 30-day suspension Wednesday following a denial of his appeal by the New York Gaming Commission of a medication positive from 2016.
Last week, new tax rules went into effect allowing horseplayers to treat the entire amount wagered in a pool for the purposes of determining tax liability, dramatically limiting the number of payouts that will now qualify for automatic tax reporting and withholding. The revisions, which were approved by the IRS and Treasury after a lobbying campaign spearheaded by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, had long been advocated by horseplayers, including Steven Crist, the former publisher of the Daily Racing Form who retired last year. Crist, who was known as the King of the Pick Six, is still playing the races from his home near Belmont Park on Long Island, and, earlier this week, he took a break from walking his greyhounds to speak to DRF Reporter Matt Hegarty about the tax changes and how they will affect horseplayers and the industry.
