LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bob Heleringer had been asking for years whether anyone knew of a comprehensive book on equine regulatory law.

Nobody knew of one, so Heleringer set out to write one, and seven years later, the result is “Equine Regulatory Law,” a tome of more than 900 pages that serves a number of very useful functions, not only as a meticulously researched reference book for regulators and litigators, but also as a fascinating read for historians and fans.

Paynter, the Haskell winner who has been in a Schuylerville, N.Y., medical facility with colitis since Aug. 26, continues to show gradual improvement despite having developed laminitis earlier this week, according to his owner.

The owner, Ahmed Zayat, tweeted Friday morning that Paynter, a 3-year-old Awesome Again colt, “is passing manure and eating. He remains comfortable in his casts and walks freely around his stall. His fever is under control. His protein levels have stabilized.”

Animal Kingdom, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, continues to progress toward a return to the races, posting his third workout in 16 days Wednesday at the Fair Hill training center in North East, Md.

Trainer Graham Motion said Thursday that if Animal Kingdom continues to progress, he could be ready to return to the races in late October or early November. While Motion said he is not under any pressure from owner Barry Irwin to make a particular race, nor has he picked out a specific spot, he has not ruled out anything, including a Breeders’ Cup race.

Paynter, the hospitalized winner of the 2012 Haskell, appeared to be holding steady Thursday as he continues treatment for colitis and its complication, laminitis.

Ahmed Zayat, the 3-year-old Awesome Again colt’s owner, tweeted Thursday morning that “Paynter was comfortable overnight and has been eating well. He continues to pass soft formed manure. He is walking very comfortably in the stall. He continues to have low protein levels but his edema has improved dramatically.”

The suspicion lingered, then a single race seemed to drive home the point. There was a time when a top jockey could leave Southern California for whatever reason, and the pond would barely ripple. But with the departure of Joel Rosario for New York last June, there was a general shaking of heads that an increasingly thin, top-heavy West Coast colony just got thinner and top-heavier.

Haskell winner Paynter remains hospitalized at a Schuylerville, N.Y., clinic but appears to have made some progress in fighting colitis, an inflammation of the colon, according to tweets Wednesday night from his owner Ahmed Zayat. 

Paynter, the Haskell winner now hospitalized with colitis, underwent an evaluation by Hagyard Equine Medical Center veterinarian Dr. Brian Fraley on Tuesday and was fitted with casts to support his feet, according to tweets by his owner, Ahmed Zayat.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Apprentice jockey Eswan Flores, who has been prohibited from riding since Aug. 25 by the California Horse Racing Board because the initial sample from a random drug test at Del Mar came back positive for cocaine, in a series of notes on Twitter on Tuesday said that the split sample of that test also came back positive for cocaine, but Flores denied he used the drug.

“I do not use cocaine,” Flores wrote.

Flores claimed he submitted to a polygraph test that, he wrote, “concluded NO DECEPTION in using or knowingly using cocaine.”

Haskell winner Paynter appears to have taken a turn for the worse with a laminitis diagnosis, according to recent communications from his owner Ahmed Zayat.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Two new issues have developed regarding the condition of Grade 1 Haskell winner Paynter, who now has an infection and blood clotting, according to owner Ahmed Zayat.

Zayat said late Monday afternoon that doctors at the Upstate Equine Medical Clinic in Schuylerville, N.Y., told him that Paynter developed an infection in the area where he had a catheter inserted to feed him and give him his medication. Further, he has developed some blood clotting, which Zayat said has resulted in the colt not getting enough nutrients.