The Association of Racing Commissioners International has launched a subsidiary modeled on itself that would issue recommendations for government agencies overseeing sports betting in their states.
A budget for New York approved on Saturday by state legislators includes language that guarantees that the New York Racing Association will continue to receive significant payments from the state’s casinos, a significant victory for NYRA, which runs Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga Race Course.
The first-year budget for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has been estimated at $14.3 million, according to a document the authority has distributed to racetracks and racing commissions. The budget is listed on two spreadsheets detailing the estimated funding responsibilities of either individual states or racetracks to the authority, which expects to begin operations on July 1, in accordance with a date set in federal legislation.
Attendance for each day of the two-day Breeders’ Cup event scheduled for Nov. 4 and 5 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington will be capped at 45,000, and tickets to a variety of permanent and temporary seating areas will go on sale beginning May 9, Breeders’ Cup and Keeneland announced on Thursday.
Queen’s Plate-winning owner-trainer John Cardella died last Dec. 25 at 90, according to owner Paul Cooper. Cardella was best known for campaigning 1983 Queen’s Plate victor Bompago.
Total wagering on U.S. horse races in March fell 2.4 percent compared to the same month last year, according to figures released by Equibase on Tuesday, a signal that the surge in betting on Thoroughbred races that occurred during the pandemic has begun to moderate.
The Federal Trade Commission has approved a set of rules drafted by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority that includes a formula for determining the funding responsibilities of racing states, with the formula based on the number of races held in the state and the “size of the purses” in the state.
A federal judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit brought by horsemen’s groups challenging the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, ruling that the legislation “stays within current constitutional limitations” as defined by previous courts.
The 7.78 field size average at the recently completed Fair Grounds meet is the lowest posted in the modern history of the track as it felt equine population pressure from various points, including the increased popularity of Turfway Park, massive purses at Oaklawn Park, and intrastate competition from Delta Downs, which runs a meet nearly concurrent with Fair Grounds’s.
The rate of fatal injury in 2021 on all surfaces at North American racetracks declined to its lowest number since the industry began collecting data on the rates in 2009, according to statistics released by The Jockey Club on Tuesday.
