The American Graded Stakes Committee has assigned grades to 464 races for the 2016 racing schedule, one more than last year, despite sharp contractions in the number of U.S. races held over the past three years. One stakes, the Fourstardave at Saratoga in upstate New York, was upgraded from a Grade 1 to a Grade 2.
Total handle on U.S. races in the months of October and November was virtually even with wagering in the same two months last year, despite a precipitous decline in the number of races held at U.S. tracks, according to figures from Equibase that were combined to provide a more accurate picture of handle.
Woodbine closed its 2015 season on Sunday with a strong year-over-year increase in all-sources and average daily handle.
The Frank De Francis Memorial Dash, which was once of Maryland’s most prestigious stakes races, has been upgraded to a Grade 3 stakes, the owners of Laurel Park announced Thursday.
The Stronach Group, which owns a number of racetracks in the United States including Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park, filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that a fantasy horse racing site is in violation of federal law because its business is “indisputably a form of wagering on the results of horse races,” according to the suit.
On Wednesday night, the Christmas tree was lit in Rockefeller Center. Hours earlier and about 12 blocks away, New York Racing Association officials gave a presentation that showed the future of the organization was both merry and bright.
The Indiana Horse Racing Commission and a veterinarian charged last year with multiple violations of the state’s racing law have reached a settlement agreement that will ban the veterinarian for nine years from the racing industry.
W. Ted Hill, the Jockey Club steward at New York Racing Association racetracks since 1996, will retire at the end of the year and be replaced by longtime New Jersey steward Jim Edwards, the Jockey Club announced Wednesday.
The second highest ranking government official in Texas has sent a letter to the Texas Racing Commission's chairman “urging” the panel to repeal historical racing rules at its next meeting, Dec. 15. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick late Tuesday released the letter he sent to the commission's Robert Schmidt.
The New York Racing Association has scheduled a total of 237 days of racing at its three tracks in 2016, 14 fewer days (5.5 percent) than what was scheduled in 2015.
