Total commingled handle on Thoroughbred races held at U.S. tracks in May dropped 4 percent compared to the same month last year, but the number of races held dropped at a larger rate, according to figures distributed by Equibase on Friday.
While handle was down from $1.45 billion in May of last year to $1.39 billion last month, the number of races dropped 5.3 percent, from 2,993 last year to 2,779 this year. The average race handle during the month was $499,288 this year, up 1 percent compared to average handle of $492,815 in May of last year.
The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has reduced a penalty for two violations of its prohibited substance policy to a series of fines after determining that a Parx-based trainer bore “no significant fault” for the finding of testosterone in hair samples from two mares in his care.
The New York State Legislature is expected to pass a bill on Thursday containing language that would temporarily protect roughly $150 million in subsidies to the state’s Thoroughbred industry while a dispute between the state and its largest casino operator is ironed out.
A hearing officer has ordered the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to issue a training license to Maria Borell, the former trainer of 2015 champion sprinter Runhappy. The hearing officer, Clayton B. Patrick, found that the commission’s recent decision to deny Borell a license violated her due-process rights and was based on “vague and inconsistent” grounds.
A metric used by the New York Racing Association to measure price volatility in its exacta pools has dropped by more than half since the association put in restrictions on the amount of bets that can be sent into the pools by computer-assisted wagering groups earlier this year, officials for NYRA said on Friday.
The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has dropped possession charges against a trainer based at Parx racetrack, citing inconsistencies in witness testimony from investigators who conducted a search of the trainer’s barn in 2025, according to a statement released from the organization.
Felissa Dunn, the trainer, had been charged with two violations of HIWU’s anti-doping rules when testing of two of nine syringes seized during a May 27, 2025, search at her barn at Parx revealed the presence of two illegal drugs.
The winner of next year’s National Horseplayers Championship will be guaranteed a purse of $1 million, approximately 25 percent higher than recent first-place awards, the organizers of the tournament announced on Thursday.
The $1 million minimum is a restoration of sorts for the NHC, the most prestigious handicapping tournament in the U.S. The NHC had a first-place purse of $1 million as recently as 2012, but the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which administers the tournament, changed the formula after that year to increase purses for also-rans in the tournament.
Horses exposed to urine contaminated with the illegal substance metformin in their stalls can test positive for the drug as far out as seven days from the time of exposure, according to a study conducted by the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California-Davis.
Cody Watkins, The Jockey Club steward at the New York Racing Association tracks since early 2025, will need to be replaced soon after the June 6 Belmont Stakes due to his inability to extend his visa to work in the U.S., The Jockey Club confirmed on Tuesday.
Watkins, a former steward for the British Horseracing Authority, was tabbed in January of last year by The Jockey Club as part of an international stewards exchange program. He had previously served as a steward at a handful of major race meetings in England, including Epsom and Goodwood.
