The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Thursday approved amendments to its penalty schedule for medication violations, bringing the state largely in line with the recommendations of national groups seeking uniform rules in U.S. racing states.
MTR Gaming, the owner of Mountaineer Park in West Virginia and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania, has completed a merger with Eldorado Resorts Inc., a small casino operator, in an all-stock transaction.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which on Tuesday dealt a fatal blow to Suffolk Downs when it ruled favorably on Wynn Resorts application to site a $1.6 billion casino development only a stone’s throw from the stable gate, will meet later this month to address the track’s imminent closure.
Horses who win races without competing on Lasix during the upcoming meet at Oaklawn Park will receive a purse bonus, Charles Cella, president of the Hot Springs, Ark., track, announced Thursday. The program awards horses a 10 percent supplement to the winner’s share of the purse, with bonuses to range in value from $1,080 to as high as $60,000 for the richest race of the meet, the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby.
The New Jersey Racing Commission on Wednesday adopted a set of medication rules that has been endorsed by most major racing organizations, including a new penalty scheme applying to repeat offenders, according to the executive director of the commission.
Projected purse payments at the Fair Grounds 2014-15 Thoroughbred meeting will be reduced, at least temporarily, by about $2.7 million because of a lawsuit filed by a group of Quarter Horse owners, trainers, and jockeys, Fair Grounds announced Wednesday.
A stake was driven through the heart of the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry in New England on Tuesday, when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 3-1 to award the sole Boston-area casino license to Wynn Resorts instead of to Mohegan Sun and partner Suffolk Downs.
The Arkansas Racing Commission on Thursday approved a new set of medication rules that will bring the state into line with a handful of other states that have adopted the regulations in an ongoing effort to unify U.S. racing jurisdictions under one set of rules.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association will attempt to bring together the opposing sides on the divisive issue of raceday medication and federal regulation of racing in an attempt to “forge a consensus” before any other federal bills are introduced, the NTRA’s president, Alex Waldrop, said during a briefing to racing constituents on Friday morning at Keeneland.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie issued a directive Monday allowing the state’s casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting effective immediately, an unusual move that is sure to be challenged by sports leagues that had won earlier court rulings finding that sports betting in the state would violate federal law.
