Steve Wren, a retired trainer who was a fixture at his hometrack of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., died on April 28, according to a notice from the Arkansas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Wren was 67.

Wren trained a number of stakes winners, including 1999 Rebel winner Etbauer; 2003 Delta Downs Jackpot winner Mr. Jester; and five-time stakes winner Miss Seffens. His first win as a trainer came in 1979 at Louisiana Downs, according to records from Daily Racing Form. Wren won with his last starter, Mac Dehere, on April 10, 2010. 

West Virginia’s two Thoroughbred tracks will be allowed to conduct spectator-free racing beginning on May 14, the state’s governor said on Thursday night as part of a relaxation of directives intended to constrain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

R.D. Hubbard, a lifelong owner and breeder who owned Hollywood Park and Ruidoso Downs, died Wednesday in Palm Desert, Calif., his family said.

Hubbard was 84 and had been in failing health in recent years.

Born in the tiny town of Smith Center, Kan., Hubbard was a teacher early in life and later owned a Fort Worth-based glass company. He became active in racing in the 1970s with Quarter Horses and led a small partnership that purchased Ruidoso Downs in 1988, making a much-needed investment in the southern New Mexico track.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Opponents and supporters of medication changes in Kentucky, including a potential ban on the raceday use of furosemide in 2-year-old races later this year, voiced familiar arguments during a videoconference hearing held by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Wednesday morning.

NBC Sports will continue to simulcast TVG’s production of live horse racing coverage through the end of May, the two companies announced Wednesday.

NBC Sports has been broadcasting the TVG simulcasts since March, after all other major sports halted their seasons due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Several major racetracks continue to race spectator-free, giving the network live sports coverage during the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Tom Sage, executive director of the Nebraska Racing Commission, has been named chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, the organization announced Tuesday.

Sage, who has been executive director of the Nebraska Racing Commission since 2008, has been active on a number of ARCI committees and is currently a member of its Executive Committee and its committees on model rules, parimutuel auditing, rider and driver welfare, and safety. The chairman position has a one-year term.

Santa Anita executives are hoping to meet with officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health next Saturday, April 18, in an effort to get permission to reopen the racetrack amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Santa Anita was deemed a nonessential business and was closed by order of county health officials on March 27, with less than an hour before first post time. Santa Anita raced for five days, March 14-22, without spectators and with numerous safeguards in place to protect horsemen and track employees.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ontario Racing has announced funding for horse owners to make up for the suspension of racing in the province due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These funds were already committed to the industry through the Funding Agreement for Live Horse Racing between Ontario Racing and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. To enable this access, Ontario Racing, OLG and the other parties have agreed to amend the funding agreement.

Angling for a resumption of racing at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita, seeking methods to fund workers’ compensation costs, and planning a summer season were among the topics that occupied Greg Avioli’s afternoon Wednesday amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

Avioli, the former Breeders’ Cup president, is the president and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the state’s official representative of Thoroughbred horsemen.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The one-year state budget passed last week by the Kentucky legislature includes funding to establish an equine drug-testing laboratory at the University of Kentucky and directs money to the state’s racing commission in order to hire additional investigators, according to the Senate majority leader.