NEW YORK - The outgoing president and COO of the New York Racing Association believes the organization should attempt to reenter the New York City market by offering an upscale offtrack betting model, but believes it would require regulatory change to do so.

Ellen McClain, who last month announced her resignation from NYRA, said Wednesday at the NYRA Reorganization Board of Directors meeting that there is an opportunity to recapture about $200 million in handle lost when New York City Off-Track Betting closed in December 2010.

NEW YORK - When the New York Racing Association put in place stricter medication guidelines last December, it effectively closed the door on horses shipping to Aqueduct from nearby states that had more lenient policies.

It appears, however, that a uniform medication policy could be in place later this year that would bring several states on the East Coast and/or Mid-Atlantic region in line with NYRA's regulations, essentially reopening the door to New York for shippers.

WHO'S HOT

Code West, Ive Struck a Nerve, and Orb are the three newcomers to this week’s Derby Watch Top 20. Orb, who won the Fountain of Youth last Saturday, is the co-fifth choice at 12-1 on the Kentucky Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper. Ive Struck a Nerve, the upset winner of the Risen Star, is 40-1 on Watchmaker’s line, with Risen Star runner-up Code West 30-1.

Lou Pena, the New Jersey-based harness trainer who was charged in 2012 with 1,719 violations of New York racing rules, had his license temporarily reinstated on Wednesday after a state court ruled that a state regulators were taking an “unreasonable amount of time” to consider his case, according to his attorney, Andrew Turro.

The ruling will allow Pena to train horses unless the New York Gaming Commission is successful in blocking the order, Turro said, or the gaming commission rules on an administrative hearing conducted in August, last year, regarding the violations.

NEW YORK – The possibility of the New York Racing Association instituting house rules on repeat violators and the feasibility of installing a synthetic surface at two of NYRA’s three tracks were among the significant topics discussed Wednesday at NYRA’s Equine Safety Committee meeting in midtown Manhattan.

A Franklin Circuit Court judge on Wednesday deferred ruling on a motion by former Kentucky Chief State Steward John Veitch to reopen an investigation into the Life At Ten incident during the 2010 Breeders’ Cup, an inquiry that cost Veitch his job.

Led by five jockeys - including Kentucky Derby winners Chris Antley, Calvin Borel, and Craig Perret - the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Wednesday released the names of the 10 finalists for its 2013 ballot.

Jockeys Garrett Gomez and Alex Solis also made the final ballot, as did one trainer - Gary Jones - and the horses Ashado, Housebuster, Invasor, and Lure.

Suspended trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday seeking damages in the amount of $10 million as well as an injunction that would lift the New York racing regulatory body’s 10-year ban of his license.

The suit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, names as defendants the New York State Gaming Commission - formerly the New York State Racing and Wagering Board - as well as individual racing board members John Sabini, Daniel Hogan, and Charles Diamond and the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

The New Jersey legislature swiftly passed a bill on Tuesday legalizing online gambling, becoming the third state to authorize internet gambling by its residents.

Gov. Chris Christie signed the bill shortly after both chambers of the legislature passed it. Christie had vetoed an earlier version of the bill, saying that he felt that internet gambling operators should face a higher tax rate and that the law should sunset after 10 years.

In his first workout since taking seriously ill last summer, Paynter went three furlongs in 36 seconds on Tuesday morning at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert.

“He went nice, very nice,” Baffert said. “He’s training great. He looks great.”