Hank Goldberg, a longtime sports announcer in Miami who rose to national fame as a handicapper and reporter for horse racing and professional football on ABC and ESPN, died on Monday, his 82nd birthday, in Las Vegas, where he had resided for the past four years, after suffering from a prolonged, chronic illness.

Goldberg, nicknamed “Hammer,” continued working right through the most recent Triple Crown, making selections for both ESPN2 and CBS Sportsline.

Cindy Hutter, an exercise rider and assistant trainer to her husband, George Weaver, was unconscious but remained in stable condition Monday morning at Albany Medical Center following an incident during training hours Sunday morning at Saratoga, according to her husband.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Lone Star Park experienced a sharp drop in handle on Saturday due to an impasse between the Texas Racing Commission and the federal government's new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.  

Lone Star’s simulcast signal was restricted to sites in Texas and the international market for the first time and it handled $234,960 on the eight-race card Saturday. Of that amount, $171,823 was bet ontrack, where a crowd of 2,703 gathered on a hot day when first post was 11 a.m. Central.  

The New York Racing Association on Friday announced it had reached a settlement agreement with the trainer Marcus Vitali, who it was seeking to exclude from racing or stabling at its grounds, though as part of the agreement the details of the settlement would not be made public.

Sources indicate, however, that Vitali would not be permitted to race or stable at NYRA tracks - Aqueduct, Belmont, or Saratoga - for multiple years.

The New York Gaming Commission on Wednesday gave final approval to the elimination of a rule requiring married jockeys to be coupled for wagering purposes while rejecting an amendment offered by New York’s horsemen that would have eliminated other coupling requirements.

The rule that was eliminated came into focus in 2021 when the jockeys Trevor McCarthy and Katie Davis began riding in New York shortly after being married. Stewards had enforced the rule, leading to criticism of the rule and a push by multiple groups to strike the regulation from the books.

Old Friends has reported that 1996 Queen’s Plate winner Victor Cooley was euthanized on Monday at age 29 at its Georgetown, Ky. farm, where he had resided since 2014.

According to attending veterinarian Dr. Ashton Broman, Victor Cooley suffered an acute onset of neurological symptoms, coupled with other pre-existing conditions.

Bred in Ontario and campaigned by the Begg family’s Windways Farm, Victor Cooley captured the Queen’s Plate and Marine Stakes at Woodbine in 1996. Trained by Mark Frostad, he was voted the Sovereign Award for champion 3-year-old in 1996.

Trainer Richard Baltas, who faces a potential fine or suspension after horses in his care were allegedly administered unpermitted substances in the spring, will not face a hearing with stewards at Los Alamitos on Friday on the matter after the trainer’s lawyer asked for a postponement.

Attorney Darrell Vienna, a retired Southern California trainer, said on Monday that he has received a 30-day continuance in the case from Los Alamitos stewards. A new hearing has not been scheduled, and will not be heard earlier than July 31 at Del Mar.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Maria Borell, the former trainer of champion sprinter Runhappy, has entered a not guilty plea to 43 charges of animal cruelty that were initially filed against her in 2016, according to her attorney.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Former Southern California trainer Thomas Bell Jr. died Friday from complications of a recent fall, according to his son, trainer Ray Bell.

Thomas Bell was 93.

Born in Brooklyn, Thomas Bell hailed from a racing family. His father, Thomas Bell Sr., trained and was later a bloodstock agent. Thomas Bell Jr. began training in 1951 and trained such prominent runners as Barberstown, Rumbo, and Silver Eagle.

“He dedicated his life to the business,” Ray Bell said Sunday.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Though Bleecker Street is undefeated, Regal Glory is the recognized leader of not only trainer Chad Brown’s roster of older female turf runners, but the division as a whole.

Regal Glory, already a two-time Grade 1 winner this year, will get a chance to tighten her grip on the division by taking on the boys in the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave at Saratoga on Aug. 13, Brown confirmed over the weekend.