LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tony Chamblin, who led two highly influential racing organizations for more than three decades during a time of dramatic change in the racing industry, died on Sunday at his home in Kentucky of congestive heart failure, according to family members. Chamblin was 81.
A partnership of the Keeneland Association and the majority owners of Kentucky Downs has filed an application for a racing license in southeastern Kentucky in order to open a casino in the area.
Marc Guilfoil, the executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said the partnership filed the application late last week. The application seeks approval to build a new harness track in Corbin, Ky., as well as a casino 10 miles south in Williamsburg that would be tied to the new racing license, Guilfoil said.
George Weaver, the New York-based trainer, has reached a settlement with the Department of Labor to pay $425,000 in back wages, damages, and civil penalties over labor violations to nearly 60 hot walkers and grooms.
Weaver was cited for a number of violations regarding employees in his stable who were working under the H-2B visa program. The Department of Labor has been conducting aggressive investigations of New York trainers for several years, and Weaver is the latest to be ordered to pay enormous judgments regarding labor violations.
Wayne Potts, the trainer who was banned by Maryland track operators in late August, is being allowed to start two horses at Laurel Park that are under restrictions prohibiting the horses from running anywhere but at tracks within the state, according to the track’s president.
Potts has one horse entered on Laurel’s Friday card, Confectioner, who is listed at 9-2 in the fifth race, a maiden-claiming race. Despite being banned by the track, Potts will be allowed into the saddling enclosure to prepare the horse to race, according to Sal Sinatra, the track’s president.
Two individuals who were indicted in March along with 25 other persons connected to Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing have entered a single guilty plea each on a charge related to manufacturing and distributing illegal substances to racehorses, according to prosecutors.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The federal bill putting in place a national regulatory body for Thoroughbred racing is considered a near certainty for passage later this year, generating timely questions about how the body will function and deliver on its promise of improving the industry’s drug-testing abilities and the safety of its athletes.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the powerful Senate majority leader from Kentucky, has introduced a bill creating federal government regulation over a national racing board that would be responsible for setting drug-testing policies and standards for the sport.
The Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC-TV on Saturday peaked at 9.8 million viewers, a steep fall from the viewership for last year’s broadcast when the race was held in May.
According to NBC, the viewership number was derived from a “fast national” rating of a 4.8 with a 14 share. Last year, the broadcast had a national rating of a 10.9, with a 25 share. Share measures the percentage of televisions in use watching a specific broadcast.
