The effort in Florida to allow “decoupling” – the legislative repeal of statutory requirements for casinos to also have parimutuel licenses – has raised concerns in the racing industry that the state may become the first in a line of dominos to fall, a reversal of the dynamic that led to casinos being allowed at racetracks in the first place, beginning more than 20 years ago in Iowa.
Handle at all California tracks rose 1.9 percent in January, to $273.7 million, according to figures announced at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting at Santa Anita.
Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., on Thursday released its 2016 stakes schedule composed of 36 stakes worth $4.4 million and highlighted by the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby on July 16.
The Texas Racing Commission received notice from the state's legislative budget board on Thursday that its operations are now fully funded. The agency has been operating on a temporary plan covering its administrative costs.
Churchill Downs Inc., the multi-faceted entertainment and gambling company that owns Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., had net income of $65.2 million in 2015, up 40.5 percent compared with net revenue of $46.4 million in 2014, according to financial statements released late on Wednesday.
Victor Espinoza, who won the Triple Crown last year with American Pharoah and who has donated generously to charities such as City of Hope for years, was announced on Wednesday by Santa Anita as the winner of the 2016 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, presented annually at Santa Anita to a rider who brings credit to the sport both on and off the track.
Eclipse Award-winning turf writer Jennie Rees will serve as the director of publicity for Kentucky Downs for 2016, the track announced Wednesday.
The Maryland Racing Commission on Monday approved a plan for a new off-track betting parlor at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Baltimore County despite vows from Baltimore and county officials to block the facility.
The stewards on Sunday fined jockey Cornelio Velasquez $1,000 for failure to ride in a professional manner in the fifth race Feb. 15. Velasquez did not maintain a straight course in the stretch on Congrats Kids, the eventual runner-up, who came over on Sky High Skylar, who finished third. The stewards, who had previously warned Velasquez about failing to maintain a straight course, did not take any action in the race.
Santa Anita will replace its turf course with a Bermuda grass surface this summer in advance of an autumn meeting highlighted by the Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 4-5, track senior vice president Joe Morris said on Sunday. The transition is scheduled to begin in July following the conclusion of the spring-summer meeting July 10. The track's autumn meeting starts Sept. 29.
