Wagering on U.S. horse races was down 6.1 percent in April compared with the same month last year, a decline that was coupled with a significant contraction in the number of race days during the month, according to figures released Monday by Equibase.
Betting on the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday was down slightly from last year, while overall betting on the 13-race card rose slightly, according to a side-by-side comparison of charts of the races.
Pennsylvania’s auditor general is in the midst of an audit of the state’s Race Horse Development Fund, which has distributed approximately $1.5 billion in slot machine subsidies to the state’s trainers, horse owners, and breeders over the past decade.
Though five owners and trainers in both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby have signed a pledge to make their veterinary records available, that does not guarantee that the records will be released.
The Indiana Horse Racing Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a set of medication rules that are designed to limit the number of regulated therapeutic medications allowed in racehorses, becoming the sixth state in the U.S. to fully adopt the rules.
Three U.S. testing laboratories have been accredited by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, a designation that aligns the laboratories with new rules in some states requiring accredited labs to perform drug tests on samples pulled from horses.
Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course have reached an agreement that would end head-to-head racing between the two tracks, but the proposal has yet to be approved by local horsemen, officials of the groups confirmed Wednesday.
Churchill Downs and racebooks in Las Vegas have so far failed to reach a simulcasting deal, potentially jeopardizing the ability of the racebooks to offer parimutuel wagering on Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, the most popular race in the United States, according to Nevada gambling officials.
North Dakota’s racing commission has approved a set of medication rules and penalty guidelines that have the support of a handful of national racing organizations seeking to reform how the sport regulates drugs.
A portion of the purse of a claiming race for maidens March 15 at Santa Anita has been redistributed after fifth-place finisher Masochistic tested positive for the sedative acepromazine, according to a ruling issued Sunday by Santa Anita stewards.
