Members of Maryland’s racing industry gathered on Friday at Laurel Park to explain their opposition to a ballot measure on Tuesday that would allow for a casino at a mall near Laurel Park in Anne Arundel County.
The board of directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International on Friday unanimously adopted a model rule that will reduce the threshold level for the popular painkiller phenylbutazone, a vote that will pave the way for what may be contentious approval processes at the state level.
Nick Nicholson, the president of Keeneland, will take over as chairman of Equibase at the end of the year, succeeding Alan Marzelli, the chairman of the company since 1997.
The Jockeys’ Guild said it has asked a Kentucky judge to block rules that went into effect in June that set standards for safety vests and require riders to divulge details to the commission about their sponsorship agreements.
A set of recommendations released by Democrats in the New Jersey Senate that would legalize exchange wagering and streamline the approval process for local offtrack betting outlets was met with limited approval from state racing officials on Tuesday.The recommendations were released on Monday by the Senate Democrats in order to provide a framework for negotiations on a bill that is expected to be crafted later this year to address the deteriorating condition of the state’s racing and casino industries.
MI Developments will hire a financial adviser to perform an evaluation of an offer by its chairman, Frank Stronach, to buy all of the outstanding stock in the company, chief executive Dennis Mills said Wednesday.
Sportech U.K., a British gambling company, has completed its acquisition of the racing assets of Scientific Games, a deal that includes one of the three large bet-processing operations in U.S. racing, the companies announced on Friday.
U.S. live race days continued to plummet in September, contributing to further declines in total handle and purse distribution during the month, according to figures released by Equibase on Wednesday. Race days declined 12.5 percent and wagering decreased by 6.4 percent in year-over-year comparisons.
Shares in the racetrack operator MI Developments rose again on Tuesday, by 3.3 percent to $14.56, to remain well above a recent offer tendered by the company's chairman, Frank Stronach, to buy all of the stock in the company that he does not already own for $13 a share.
The bankrupt New York City Off Track Betting Corporation has reached a tentative deal with its union that would result in the loss of 550 jobs at the company and the transfer of OTB’s account-wagering operations to state racetrack operators, including the New York Racing Association, according to the union.
