The overall fatality rate for North American Thoroughbreds has remained relatively unchanged over the five years that injury data have been collected despite widespread efforts to improve the health and safety of racehorses over the same time frame, according to updated figures released on Monday afternoon by the Jockey Club.
The fatality rate for U.S. Thoroughbreds on artificial surfaces continued to be sharply lower than the fatality rate on dirt surfaces in 2013, according to data released by The Jockey Club on Monday from the Equine Injury Database.
The Kentucky legislature reached a deal on a budget Sunday that reinstates a 1.5 percent tax on Instant Racing machines and assesses for the first time a 0.5 percent tax on bets made through account-wagering companies.
The Eclipse Awards ceremony will continue to be held at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., through 2016 under a two-year renewal deal the track reached with the ceremony’s organizers, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Wednesday.
A racing medication policy group has recommended that horsemen be able to use the bronchodilator albuterol up to 72 hours prior to a race as an alternative to the more strictly regulated drug clenbuterol, the group, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, said after conducting a board meeting Monday.
Lexington’s two racetracks, Keeneland and the Red Mile, have separately applied to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for licenses to operate Instant Racing machines, the slot machine-like devices already operated by two Thoroughbred tracks in the state, according to officials with knowledge of the applications.
Legislators in West Virginia helped to close a budget gap for the next fiscal year by diverting 10 percent of the amount the state’s racing industries receive from slot machines to the state’s general fund.
A diminishing pool of runners is a double-edged sword for those involved in racing. Racetracks need runners – lots of them – to fill daily cards and generate the handle needed to be successful. From the standpoint of a racehorse owner, however, fewer runners means less competition and a greater chance to win purse money.
The Jockey Club has released the 2014 edition of its industry Fact Book on its website, as well as individual Fact Books for many states and Canadian provinces.
The New York Gaming Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a rule requiring horsemen to notify track personnel within 72 hours of a horse being gelded ontrack, during a meeting in which the commission also approved a rule allowing Standardbred horses to be administered clenbuterol up to 96 hours before a race.
