The substances found in the Delaware Park barn of Donald Roberson that led to the trainer receiving a two-year suspension were compounded drugs, one of which contained the active ingredient in Cialis and the other containing a drug that may have been used in an attempt to increase a horse’s stamina, according to drug-testing officials and chemists.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Lexie Lou, who had been promoted to first place following the disqualification of On Rainbow Bridge in Woodbine’s $200,000 Muskoka Stakes on Aug. 28, was confirmed as the winner following a lengthy appeal hearing at the Ontario Racing Commission’s head office on Thursday afternoon.

Trainer Dave Cotey and owner Kurt Cobza had appealed the stewards’ decision, and jockey Skye Chernetz, who had been handed a three-day suspension for her ride aboard On Rainbow Bridge, also launched an appeal, which was denied.

CHICAGO – The Illinois Racing Board awarded 510 racing dates to the state’s three Thoroughbred and two Standardbred tracks for 2013. Imagine a scenario in which those dates were reduced by 83 percent, a season when a grand total of 13 harness-racing programs were conducted, Hawthorne had no spring meet and raced only 15 days in the fall, and Arlington’s long summer meeting was reduced to just 49 days. That is not just imaginable but possible.

DEL MAR, Calif. – With his second straight win in a live-money handicapping tournament at Del Mar over the summer, Kevin McFarland earned a fees-paid berth into a similar tournament at the Breeders’ Cup next month at Santa Anita. It was the handicapper’s version of the popular Win and You’re In program, yet in a sport based on gambling, the benefits to bettors are far less known than the those of the Win and You’re In prep races for horses, an imbalance McFarland hopes can be righted.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Fort Erie’s 41-day meeting wound up Tuesday with a total handle of $24,893,884 for a daily average handle of $607,168 from all sources, a 13 percent increase from last season.

There were 74 racing days at Fort Erie last year, with the comparable figures being $537,514 for the daily average and the total handle $39,776,037.

Tom Valiquette, Fort Erie’s chief financial officer, released comprehensive figures which also included a per-race handle of $7,363 this year on 388 races, a 15 percent increase over the $6,389 average on the 974 races in 2012.

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission on Wednesday upheld a ruling by the stewards at Delaware Park to suspend trainer Donald Roberson for two years after a search of his barn turned up loaded syringes, according to the executive director of the commission, John Wayne.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The average daily handle at Hastings rose by 1.5 percent at the 2013 meet, which ended Monday, but fewer racing days caused a decline in total handle.

There were 69 days scheduled, but a shortage of horses and a virus that hit the backstretch in midsummer caused six days to be canceled. The total all-sources live handle of $31,071,594 was off by 4.6 percent compared to the $32,553,850 that was wagered over 67 days in 2012.

A judge on the Supreme Court of the State of New York has thrown out a lawsuit challenging a ballot question that will ask state voters this November whether they approve of the authorization of up to seven new casinos.

Daily all-sources handle on Northlands Park races rose slightly at the recently completed meet, while fewer racing days resulted in a 4.4 percent decline in total all-sources handle. The meet began May 3 and ended Monday.

In 2012, a total of $18,759,314 was wagered over 82 days of racing, while this year $17,940,141 was bet over the 78 days.

The daily average of $230,001 was up by 0.5 percent over last year’s average of $228,772.

Stephen Burn, the chief executive officer of Television Games Network since 2010, resigned his position in September and a replacement has not yet been named, according to an official for the company.

The resignation was first reported by the Paulick Report. John Hindman, a TVG vice president, confirmed the report late on Tuesday, and said that Burn is “still consulting to the CEO of Betfair on strategies related to TVG” despite the resignation.