The Michigan Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has agreed to move Thoroughbred and mixed-breed racing next year to Detroit-area harness tracks Hazel Park Harness Raceway and Northville Downs, making them both permanent Thoroughbred racing sites, pending state approval.
Suffolk Downs and the Mohegan Sun will have to wait until at least next week to know whether they may move forward with their proposal to move the planned $1 billion casino resort project from the East Boston side of the racetrack grounds to the portion located within the city of Revere.
At a meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday, the five commissioners decided to delay their vote until their scheduled meeting next week.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Daily average handle from all sources was down more than 15 percent at the Churchill Downs fall meet that ended Saturday, according to information provided by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
All-sources handle grossed $117,642,653 at the 25-day meet, which was barely more than the $116,697,792 at the comparable 2012 fall meet, when only 21 days of racing were held.
The daily average this fall was $4,705,706, a reduction of 15.3 percent from the average of $5,557,038 last fall.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Monday will be the new Wednesday at Aqueduct.
Beginning Jan. 13 and lasting 11 weeks through the end of March, Aqueduct will conduct live racing on Mondays and be dark Wednesdays. In January and March, Aqueduct will maintain a five-day race week – Thursdays through Mondays – while in February it will race four days a week – Fridays through Mondays. It is expected that in April Aqueduct will resume its normal Wednesday through Sunday racing schedule – save for April 13 (Palm Sunday) and April 20 (Easter Sunday), when the track must be closed by law.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Some major shake-ups in the trainer and jockey ranks will be evident when Tampa Bay Downs kicks off the major portion of its 2013-14 live race meeting Wednesday.
The meeting actually began in early July, when Tampa ran a single card that qualified it as a year-round live racetrack. That has allowed Tampa to import simulcast signals as its own hub between July 2 and Dec. 4. It previously had paid another Florida racetrack to serve as its hub during that period.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With still more than five months until the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, it came as no surprise whatsoever Saturday when the mutuel field closed as an odds-on favorite in Pool 1 of the Derby Future Wager.
The field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed at 4-5, with Remsen Stakes winner Honor Code next at 10-1 among the 23 separately listed entrants. Then came New Year’s Day (15-1), Tap It Rich (25-1), Havana (26-1), Cairo Prince (26-1), and Strong Mandate (27-1).
ARCADIA, Calif. – The 2014 campaign of Grade 2 winner Clubhouse Ride will not resemble his outstanding campaign of early 2013.
According to trainer Craig Lewis and co-owner Rick Seidner, a flawed foot-trimming procedure will postpone the comeback of Clubhouse Ride, one of the top handicap horses in California during the first half of 2013.
Four months of winter racing begins Sunday at Turfway Park, where officials, horsemen, and fans are in the familiar mode of simply trying to maintain an upbeat attitude and a measure of respectability while the northern Kentucky track continues its uphill battles.
Trainer Jamie Ness got his 2,000th career win when Caylee’s Song dashed to victory in the second race at Laurel Park on Thursday.
The milestone win was a fitting representation of Ness’s career: Caylee’s Song was owned by the Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. of Rich and Karen Papiese, the massive operation that has fueled much of Ness’s success during the past several seasons. Caylee’s Song was claimed from Ness and Midwest for $6,250 from the race, but Ness and Midwest dropped a claim of their own on another horse.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Happy 75th birthday, Gulfstream Park.
After adding another chapter to the track’s already illustrious history by conducting its first-ever summer meeting earlier this year, Gulfstream Park will kick off its 75th anniversary season Saturday with the opening of the 2013-14 winter meet, which runs through April 6.
