The hot-button issue of health benefits for jockeys in New York - and how to pay for them - will be the focal point of the state Task Force on Jockey Health and Safety, which held its initial meeting Wednesday.
A U.S. House subcommittee scheduled to conduct a hearing Thursday to discuss legislation that would require racetracks to fund an “independent anti-doping agency” to write and enforce the sport’s drug policies has called six witnesses, including Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
The New York Racing Association has chosen Global Betting Exchange, an Irish company, to run its Internet account-wagering operation, four months after the initial selection of the company for the same contract was scuttled by state regulators.
A U.S. House committee has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 21 to discuss a bill that would give a single agency the power to enforce the sport’s drug-testing rules in all U.S. racing jurisdictions.
P.J. Campo, formerly vice president and director of racing for the New York Racing Association, has been named vice president of racing for the Stronach Group, the company announced on Wednesday.
Wagering on U.S. races during the month of October was up 8.3 percent, despite a 5.8 percent decline in race days, according to figures released Tuesday by Equibase.
The New York Gaming Commission, which regulates racing in the state, on Monday initiated a process to adopt of a set of threshold levels for 24 therapeutic medications that would align the state’s racing rules with a number of other nearby jurisdictions, but it’s unlikely formal approval would occur before Jan. 1, the goal of supporters of the movement.
Handle on the Breeders’ Cup rebounded from a sharp downturn at the event last year, with all-sources wagering on the 14 races on the Breeders’ Cup slate jumping seven percent and total handle on the two Breeders’ Cup cards at Santa Anita surging 11 percent.
Handle at the Breeders’ Cup rose for the first time in three years this year, despite the event having one fewer race this year. According to the charts of the races, handle on the 14 races this year was $135.5 million, up 6.8 percent compared to preliminary reported handle on 15 races last year.
Revenue at Calder Race Course in Miami has plummeted 41 percent in the face of head-to-head live racing competition and an end to its exclusive right to sell simulcast signals for much of the year, according to financial documents released Wednesday by the track’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc.
