BENSALEM, Pa. - Parx Racing handled $5,859,269 on its 11-race Pennsylvania Derby Day card on Saturday, the second highest in track history.
The record was set last year, when the immensely popular Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome ran in the Pennsylvania Derby and Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable raced in the Cotillion, Parx handled more than $10.3 million.
The previous record of $5.5 million was set on Pennsylvania Derby Day in 2013 when Will Take Charge defeated Moreno.
Out-of-state simulcasting of ThistleDown races is expected to resume Saturday following a quick resolution to a dispute between Ohio horsemen and track management over the number of available stalls.
The Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association invoked its authority to prohibit the simulcast signal from being exported out of state on Wednesday. As a result, wagers were only accepted ontrack, at other Ohio racetracks, a simulcast parlor in northeastern Ohio, and a handful of advance-deposit wagering platforms.
Jockey Richard Eramia sustained a small fracture to his right thumb in the most serious injury to four riders involved in a Friday spill at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City. The incident happened in the sixth race.
Eramia, who returned to his home around 9:30 p.m. Central on Friday after spending several hours at Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, La., said fellow riders Hector Del-Cid, Gerardo Mora, and Erica Murray also went to the hospital Friday.
“Everyone went to the hospital, but nobody got [seriously] hurt,” Eramia said. “Everybody is OK.”
The Virginia Equine Alliance will hold the first of its two Thoroughbred cards this year on Sunday at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va.
The Virginia Equine Alliance is a non-profit organization comprising the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, the Virginia Gold Cup Association, and the Virginia Harness Horse Association. Its purpose is to sustain, promote, and expand the horse breeding and racing industries in Virginia, which has been without a racetrack the past two summers since Colonial Downs closed.
Diane DiLella, the director of human resources for Daily Racing Form for over a decade, died Sept. 13 in New York City after a short illness. She was 65.
DiLella worked for 20 years for American Express before joining DRF in 2001. She was buried Friday at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx.
Because of better-than-projected handle including and since the Aug. 15 Arlington Million card, Arlington announced late Wednesday a modest and limited purse increase as well as the carding of additional races for the last five cards of its 2015 meeting.
Purses in races restricted to Illinois-breds will be increased by $5,000 during the meet’s final days. Purses in open races aren’t going up, but Illinois breeder and owner bonuses in such races will be raised from $1,000 to $3,000.
Texas Red, the multiple graded stakes-winning colt, will miss the remainder of his 3-year-old season with bruising to the cannon bone of his right foreleg, his connections announced Thursday.
Texas Red, who was under consideration for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is scheduled to race again next year as a 4-year-old, according to Julie Clark, the assistant to trainer Keith Desormeaux.
The fourth annual “Chipping in for Johnny” Morris Golf Tournament will be held Monday, Oct. 12, at the University Club of Kentucky near Lexington. The scramble-format tournament will begin at noon Eastern, and registration is $150 per golfer or $600 per foursome, with all proceeds going to charity.
The Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston Race Park will be run over 1 1/2 miles when it is renewed Jan. 30, the Houston track announced. The Connally, formerly 1 1/8 miles, will share a card with the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic. The races highlight a schedule of 20 stakes worth a total of $1.8 million during the Sam Houston meet that opens Jan. 15. The 32-date season will run through March 8.
Ed Seigenfeld, the retired executive vice president for the defunct Triple Crown Productions, died early Wednesday in palliative care in Louisville, Ky., following a brief illness. He was 78.
Seigenfeld guided Triple Crown Productions from 1991 until 2009, when the organization was dissolved because the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes were being televised on different networks. During the company’s heyday, Seigenfeld was a prominent figure whenever a Triple Crown sweep was possible, particularly when a $5 million bonus was being offered by the series sponsor, Visa.
