The federal government will issue an additional 15,000 visas under its H2-B visa program this fiscal year, according to the Department of Homeland Security, a decision that may benefit trainers who rely on the program for backstretch help.
Los Alamitos completed its two-week summer meeting on Sunday with a decline in all-sources handle compared to its last summer meeting, which came in July 2015, according to track officials.
All-sources handle for the 54-day Belmont spring/summer meet that ended Sunday was $579,779,461, down 5.6 percent from last year’s figure of $613,870,620.
Two new directors have been elected to the Breeders’ Cup board while another member was re-elected, according to election results announced on Wednesday by the organization.
Thoroughbred owner and breeder Barbara Banke and a former senior executive of the National Basketball Association will be among the featured speakers at this year’s Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing, The Jockey Club announced on Wednesday.
The Illinois state budget passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday night not only restores about $1.8 million in Illinois owners' awards payments that weren't made available the last two years, it doubles them to about $3.67 million, according to a press release from the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which helped lobby the legislature.
The Grade 3 De Francis Dash moves from November to September on Laurel's revamped $4.42 million fall stakes schedule.
Trainer Julio Canani, the winner of three Breeders' Cup races who was suspended 13 months ending last November for financial improprieties related to the sale of horses in the late 2000s, was recently denied a trainer's license by the California Horse Racing Board.
All-sources handle at the Churchill Downs spring meet that ended Friday night was up nearly 7 percent over the corresponding 2016 meet, according to figures released Monday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Derby Wars, the online contest site that recently reached a settlement with the major racetrack operator The Stronach Group, has negotiated revenue-sharing deals with a handful of racetracks, including the tracks operated by the New York Racing Association, the company said on Friday.
