California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill on Thursday that will increase the takeout on exotic bets on California races to fund an increase in overnight purses beginning this winter.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an emergency regulation that would allow horseracing regulators to draw samples from racehorses at any location, and at any time.
Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to buy a Mississippi hotel and casino for $138 million, in a deal that could land the company its first non-racing property.
Race days at U.S. racetracks in the month of August plummeted 13.2 percent, or a total of 86 dates, a decline that contributed to steep drops in wagering and purse distribution in the month compared with August of last year.
Legislation that would increase takeout for exotic bets on California races and permit the development of exchange betting was stuck at the committee level on Friday.
California racetracks contend they need to increase takeout on exotic wagers, but horseplayers feel the best way to increase handle is to lower takeout.
A joint committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Thursday approved a set of rules governing a program that will allow regulators to test horses for banned substances such as blood-enhancing drugs at any time or place.
A group opposed to expanded gambling in Kentucky filed a brief on Monday to intervene in a request from the state’s racing commission for a state court to rule on whether gambling devices using already-run races to generate random numbers are illegal under the state’s constitution, the group, the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said on Monday.
Legislation that would increase the takeout on exotic wagers in California and authorize exchange betting in the state has been introduced in the state Assembly.
Despite unprecedented year-over-year declines in betting handle, auction receipts, and the size of the foal crop, the Thoroughbred racing industry has reasons to be optimistic about its future, officials of a variety of racing organizations contended on Sunday during the Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing.
