Robert Manfuso, a mainstay of the Maryland racing and breeding industry who at one time held an ownership stake in the state’s tracks, died Thursday of natural causes. He was 82.

The Louisiana State Racing Commission on Friday ordered Evangeline Downs in Opelousas and all other racetracks in the state to continue to allow horses to be stabled on their backstretches for at least the next 30 days.

The commission took the action, in the form of an order applying to all tracks, after Evangeline Downs told horsemen earlier in the week that they had to vacate the backstretch by March 18. In reaction to the order, horsemen in the state beseeched the racing commission to prevent the order from taking effect.

Laurel Park in Maryland on Thursday closed its backstretch to all shippers other than horses stabled at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and will scratch all horses that are stabled at other tracks for the race cards scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the state’s horsemen group said in an alert to its members.

The ban on ship-ins became effective immediately, the alert said. Although Laurel began banning spectators last week due to the impact of the coronavirus impact, the track is continuing to run.

A bill that will allow Maryland to use casino subsidies flowing to racing in order to fund renovations at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland has been sent to the state’s governor after it passed a final procedural hurdle in the state’s House of Representatives on Wednesday, according to racing officials.

Cathy Dwyer dies this past weekend in New Port Richey, Fla., after a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer.  Dwyer, 65, was the longtime simulcast director at Tampa Bay Downs and, most recently, the director of operations at Premier Turf Club.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1954, Dwyer moved with her family to Chicago as a child.  She later worked on the Chicago stock exchange.

Total handle on races held at U.S. racetracks from Friday to Sunday was $132.1 million, down 4.9 percent compared with the closest calendar weekend from last year, but per race handle was up 13.9 percent due to a large drop in the number of races held, according to an analysis of racing metrics conducted by Daily Racing Form.

The Maryland House on Sunday afternoon passed a bill that would provide $375 million in funds for the renovation of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, in a vote that will likely result in the legislation being sent to the governor for his signature by the middle of the week, according to Maryland racing officials.

Churchill Downs has suspended all simulcast operations at its track in Louisville and shut down its casino in the same city for at least the next 14 days in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the track announced on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier this week, Churchill had said that it would remain open for simulcasting, but it reversed itself on Sunday “in the best interests of our guests, employees, and the community around us,” the track said in a statement. The company said it will “continue normal payroll for team members during the 14-day suspension.”

Sunland Park, the track on the New Mexico side of the border with El Paso, Tex., will close for three weeks, effective immediately, after the state’s governor asked the track to shutter in response to the coronavirus, according to a release issued by the track on Sunday afternoon.

Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland has ordered that all racetracks and simulcast facilities in the state close “to the general public” in response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a notice posted on the state government’s website. Laurel Park, however, continued to race on Sunday as they waited for clarification on when the order was to go into effect and whether it meant the track had to cancel racing.