Total betting on U.S. Thoroughbred races continued to slide in September and in the third quarter this year compared to the same time periods last year, though the declines were mitigated by a larger decline in the number of races held, according to figures released on Thursday by Equibase.
Opposing sides in a case involving the constitutionality of the legislation that established the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on Wednesday provided oral arguments to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Earle Mack, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder who has funded several racing initiatives, will chair the newly formed Jockey Mental Health Steering Committee of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, HISA announced.
An arbitrator has reversed a two-year suspension handed down by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit to the trainer Dennis VanMeter, ruling that a positive for isoxsuprine in his horse after a race in June was an “exceptional case” in which environmental contamination was the most likely cause of the positive test.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has submitted a small number of changes in its enforcement and registration rules to the Federal Trade Commission for approval, HISA said on Wednesday, including language that allows the authority to launch an investigation into a potential violation when acting on evidence submitted by an outside source.
Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Louisiana, has introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that would repeal the legislation creating the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and create a state compact for national regulation of racing in its stead.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority would have the power to suspend a racetrack’s accreditation or a licensee’s ability to participate in horse racing under new rules the regulatory body submitted for approval on Thursday.
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Hawthorne Race Course will run 78 race dates next year, running from late March to mid-October, as the Chicago-area track once again fills in the summer hole left by the closing of Arlington Park.
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Total handle during the Kentucky Downs seven-day race meet that closed on Wednesday was a record $84.74 million, up 4.8 percent compared last year, according to figures derived from the Equibase charts of the races.
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Alan Foreman, a longtime attorney who specializes in representing horsemen, has been hired to serve as an “ombudsman” for licensees who are facing potential violations under new rules that went into effect under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, HISA announced Wednesday.
