Longines, the Swiss luxury watchmaker that has long bought advertising on U.S. racing broadcasts, will be the title sponsor of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf and Breeders’ Cup Distaff under a sponsorship agreement the company signed this week, the Breeders’ Cup announced Thursday.

Longines will join four other companies that are title sponsors of one of the 13 Breeders’ Cup races that are scheduled for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Santa Anita. Longines is also the title sponsor of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

U.S. prosecutors have agreed to drop a three-count federal indictment alleging race fixing against the trainer David Wells in exchange for Wells pleading guilty to one misdemeanor charge of “rigging a publicly exhibited contest” in a Pennsylvania state court, according to court documents filed last week.

Frank Brothers, who won nine training titles at Louisiana Downs and five at Fair Grounds, will be the first trainer inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame when he is enshrined during June 27 ceremonies in Natchitoches, La. Brothers, now retired from training, was chosen for the honor by a 35-member committee made up of sports writers based in Louisiana.

The Louisiana State Racing Commission has instructed Fair Grounds to restore $2.7 million in purse cuts the New Orleans track intended to apply to the upcoming 2014-15 Thoroughbred racing season.

Fair Grounds intended to remove the money from the purse account and place it in escrow pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by Quarter Horse interests contending Fair Grounds has failed to properly apply revenue earned from video poker machines it operates to purses at the track’s Quarter Horse meet.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockeys at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita will be riding with “JS” patches on their pants and boots to honor fallen rider Juan Saez, the 17-year-old apprentice killed in a spill at Indiana Grand on Oct. 14.

A release this week by the Jockeys’ Guild said that besides the patch, jockeys also will ride with black armbands to honor “all other jockeys who have lost the lives during a race or as a result of race-related injuries.”

Five major sports leagues have filed a request for injunction seeking to stop Monmouth Park in New Jersey from offering bets on their games as of Oct. 26.

The request for injunction was filed Monday by the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, and the NCAA in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J. The suit asks the court to rule on the injunction prior to this Sunday, when Monmouth Park has said it plans to open its sports book to live wagers.

The Jockeys’ Guild has established an account for the family of Juan Saez, the 17-year-old apprentice jockey who died as the result of a riding accident last Tuesday at Indiana Grand racetrack.

Contributions to the fund can be made by sending a check made out to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America, 2365 Harrodsburg Road, Suite A-120, Lexington, Kentucky, 40504, with the notation Juan Saez in the memo line, the Guild said in a release on Monday. The Race Track Chaplaincy of America is a charity that provides ministry services on racetrack backstretches.

In Saturday’s All-In contest at NHCQualify.com, where all picks had to be in before post time of the first race, five players won their way in to the National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas. The most familiar name was Peter Behr, the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge champion from London, Ontario, but the overall winner was Alan Levitt of Baltimore.

Top British jockey James Doyle was suspended seven days and fined approximately $16,000 for excessive use of the whip at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday, a penalty that will prevent him from riding in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, and the Melbourne Cup in Australia on Nov. 4.

Rick Violette Sr., the father of trainer and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Rick Violette Jr., died Friday morning after a brief illness. He was 85.

Violette served in the Navy and worked as a mechanical engineer in his native Massachusetts before retiring to Boynton Beach, Fla. A longtime volunteer for the winter Special Olympics, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Beatrice; sons, Christopher, Robert, and Richard Jr.; daughter, Patrice; and two grandchildren.