The Louisiana Racing Commission denied both a purse-transfer request for Thoroughbreds and the movement of a meet for Quarter Horses during a five-hour meeting Wednesday at Evangeline Downs.

The purse-transfer request came from the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. The organization asked the commission to reconsider its August decision to deny the transfer of some purse funds from Delta Downs to the Evangeline Downs meet for Thoroughbreds that opens next April. Both tracks are owned by Boyd Gaming.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Kentucky circuit court judge has ruled that gambling devices in operation at four facilities in the state comply with the state’s definition of parimutuel wagering, an opinion that lifts a lingering cloud over the legality of the machines.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Joseph V. Shields Jr., a horse owner for more than three decades, died Oct. 10 in his sleep at his home in Thomasville, Ga., according to his family. He was 80.

Shields owned horses for 36 years during which he campaigned 14 stakes winners. His most notable victory came with Wagon Limit, who at odds of 34-1 beat Skip Away in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 10, 1998.

Shields also campaigned stakes winners Any Limit, Foil, Garnered, House Party, Limit Out, Passing Shot, and Puzzlement.

Breeders’ Cup plans to offer a slate of new bets for its revamped two-day event scheduled for Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., including head-to-head wagers and a jackpot-style bet requiring bettors to select the first five finishers in order, the organization announced on Tuesday night.

A deadline giving slot-holders in the Pegasus World Cup first dibs on buying slots for the January race next year at Gulfstream Park has expired, opening up the market to all comers.

The deadline was Thursday, according to officials for The Stronach Group, the company that owns Gulfstream and markets the slots to the Pegasus, scheduled for Jan. 26. It was unclear how many slots, if any, were sold prior to the deadline, as officials for The Stronach Group did not respond to repeated requests for comment Friday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - State veterinary personnel in Kentucky have enacted additional measures to attempt to identify horses who are at greater risk for racing injuries since a spate of breakdowns in mid-September at Churchill Downs, but have yet to identify any common factors that may have contributed to the fatalities, according to the state’s head equine veterinarian and its equine medical director.

Racing operations will continue as usual at the tracks and racing companies owned and operated by The Stronach Group despite a stunning lawsuit filed this month by the founder of the company, Frank Stronach, against his daughter Belinda and a former chief executive, a top official for the company said on Wednesday.

A GPS-based timing system that has been in testing at a number of tracks in the U.S. for the past several months has been named the official timer at Woodbine, Laurel Park, and Pimlico Race Course, according to Equibase, the racing industry’s official data-gathering company.

The timing system, which was developed by a British company, Total Performance Data, uses the GPS satellite system to track horses as they move around the track. Total Performance Data operates similar systems at more than 12 racecourses in the United Kingdom, according to the company.

A dates committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday recommended that the state approve racing dates that are largely identical to those requested by Kentucky racetracks over the past three years.

The dates committee voted unanimously to recommend approval, noting that the dates have been largely static over the past three years. The full commission is scheduled to meet next on Oct. 27, at which time it will take up the recommendation by the dates committee.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky regulators intend to gauge the interest of the local community and collect more information from applicants before they will consider whether to approve one of three proposals to build a new harness track and casino near Oak Grove in the southeast area of the state, members of the state’s racing commission said on Tuesday.