U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a New York Democrat representing the district that includes Saratoga Springs, plans to introduce a bill that would create a federal panel that would craft the sport’s medication policies and direct the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private company, to enforce the policies, the congressman announced on Friday.

The Pennsylvania Racing Commission has reversed an order by Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa., banning the trainer Juan Vazquez from its premises, according to a copy of the commission’s decision, though a second ban issued by the same track against Vazquez remains pending.

The decision, dated May 26, did not provide a reason for the reversal. Commission officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah was back on the racetrack at Churchill Downs on Thursday for the first time since a Tuesday workout that produced considerable buzz.

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah lost one rival but may have picked up another in his bid to become Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner in the June 6 Belmont Stakes.

Conquest Curlinate, the runner-up in both the Illinois Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, was removed from consideration for the Belmont on Thursday, while The Truth Or Else, a 1 1/2-length winner of a first-level allowance at Belmont on May 22, is now under strong consideration to start in the 1 1/2-mile race.

The parent company of a casino in East St. Louis, Ill., has reached an agreement to purchase nearby Fairmount Park if the Illinois legislature legalizes slot machines at the track, the company, CQ Holdings, announced.

The maneuver is designed to protect CQ’s Casino Queen property, which sits on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, approximately 10 miles west of Fairmount Park. Casino Queen is one of 10 casinos in operation in Illinois and one of two casinos in the East St. Louis area.

ELMONT, N.Y. – At the finish of the Kentucky Derby, Keen Ice and Mubtaahij were separated by a half-length, or approximately four feet. On Wednesday, with both preparing for the June 6 Belmont Stakes – and a second meeting with each other and Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah – Keen Ice and Mubtaahij were separated by 772 miles and their trainers’ ideology.

LEXINGTON – On Tuesday, an offshoot of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to recommend the state adopt a two-tier threshold level for cobalt, the naturally occurring mineral shown to be abused worldwide in horseracing sports.

Gulfstream Park has announced new incentives designed to lure more horses and horsemen to south Florida for the summer.

Gulfstream will offer horsemen a $250 starter bonus tied to field size, beginning July 1. The bonus will be paid for races in which a field leaves the paddock with eight horses or more through Oct. 3. Gulfstream also will help defer the costs of shipping horses to the area anytime between now and Dec. 1, that policy coming on the heels of the announcement that the Palm Meadows training center will remain open, with no charge for stalls, throughout the summer.   

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Mark Casse believes he tried to push some horses to make the Kentucky Derby over the last few years, and he made a promise to himself this year that he wasn’t going to do that anymore.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah galloped a little more than 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs on a nice, cool Saturday. He was among the first horses allowed onto a freshly harrowed main track at 8:26 a.m.

This was the second morning that Jim Barnes, the assistant trainer for Bob Baffert, had exercise rider Jorge Alvarez backtrack the colt to the seven-furlong pole, turn him around, and get him right into a steady gallop.