LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council, an offshoot of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has scheduled a meeting for early Friday morning to discuss a proposal for a limited phaseout of the raceday use of Lasix, three weeks after the council killed the exact same proposal.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A group of racing companies that operate some of the most high-profile tracks and racing events in the country will push for a laundry list of changes to medication policies and other protocols in an effort to reduce racing injuries, the group announced on Tuesday.

Trainers based in New York who negotiated settlements with the federal Department of Labor over unpaid wages and other labor violations have been hit with separate penalties by the state’s labor department, according to officials and trainers in New York.

Thomas M. Walsh, a steeplechase rider and trainer who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame, died Wednesday at the age of 79, according to the National Steeplechase Association.

Pimlico Race Course will award automatic berths in a number of races on its Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes cards to the winners of newly designated races leading up to the two race days, the racetrack announced on Thursday.

The West Virginia Racing Commission announced it plans to hire an equine medical director and put in place “medical review boards” at the state’s two operating Thoroughbred racetracks, Mountaineer and Charles Town.

The two initiatives are related to the commission’s participation in a regional group that is seeking to implement uniform standards among the member jurisdictions, which are all based in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast. The group has called for all member jurisdictions to employ a full-time equine medical director as part of a plan to reduce catastrophic injuries.

Juan Becerra, an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen, died Monday after failing to regain consciousness following a riding accident at Belmont Park last Friday. He would have turned 44 this Saturday.

The Churchill Downs simulcast signal has been unavailable throughout Nevada since the track’s meet began on Oct. 27 due to a contract dispute with the company that buys racing signals for the state’s parimutuel locations, the track’s parent company confirmed on Tuesday.

A study examining catastrophic injuries over a 10-year period at four South American racetracks has shown a significant increased risk of fatality for horses that have been administered phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory drug that is commonly used in treating racehorses in the United States.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Drew Fleming, the chief operating officer at Breeders’ Cup Ltd., will replace the departing Craig Fravel as the organization’s chief executive officer, Breeders’ Cup announced on Tuesday.