Richard Lowell McCarthy, a handicapper and Equibase chart-caller who worked in the Thoroughbred industry for decades, died Saturday at his home in Jackson, N.Y., after a long illness.
The annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course continues to be a boon to the New York Capital region, generating more than $237 million in economic activity and approximately 2,600 jobs, according to a study released Friday by the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency.
Equine fatalities at the state’s racetracks declined 5 percent during the 2013-14 fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, according to an annual report published earlier this week by the California Horse Racing Board.
Federal tax authorities have issued a notice saying that they intend to consider changes to the tax laws that are applied to parimutuel winnings, a step that could lead to a steep drop in the tax liabilities for horseplayers.
West Point Thoroughbreds, the racing partnership company, has signed a deal giving it presenting sponsorship rights to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, and the company will award financial interests in a West Point Thoroughbreds horse to the top two finishers in the handicapping contest, the Breeders’ Cup and West Point Thoroughbreds announced Friday.
Six semifinalists have been named for the ninth annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, honoring full-length work written with a horse racing focus or backdrop.
A Kentucky committee approved a bill on Thursday night that would exempt from state taxes all bets made during the two-day Breeders’ Cup event at Keeneland on Oct. 30-31.
Churchill Downs had net income of $46.2 million in 2014, according to financial documents released late on Wednesday, a drop of 16 percent compared with net income of $54.9 million in 2013 despite posting record revenues during the year.
Longtime Woodbine trainer Barbara Pirie has passed away from cancer at age 55.
A cooperative of racetracks and the company controlling the simulcast signals to Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park have agreed to the main pricing aspects of a new simulcast contract, but approval of the pact is being held up by a related issue affecting one of the cooperative’s members, Rosecroft Raceway, according to officials for both sides.
