The Kentucky Derby, the richest property in racing, will continue to “show meaningful growth” in revenue and visibility in the coming years, Churchill’s top executive said on Thursday morning during a conference call with analysts, despite the company acknowledging in financial statements released on Wednesday night that ticketing revenues declined in 2025 compared to the year prior.

Trainer Phil Serpe has been handed a two-year suspension from an arbitrator appointed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit for a clenbuterol positive in a horse he trained that raced in New York in 2024.

Serpe, 66, argued in pre-hearing filings and during his hearing in June that he did not administer clenbuterol, a strictly regulated bronchial dilator, to the horse or know how the horse tested positive for the drug. Serpe also contended that the horse could have tested positive due to contamination of its sample.

Steve Kornacki, the NBC News political correspondent and an analyst on the network’s horse racing broadcasts, will deliver a keynote address during the July 31 Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing in Saratoga Springs, the organizer of the conference, The Jockey Club, announced on Thursday.

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association has waived most registration fees for Florida-bred foals of 2025 for members of the association who are the breeders of record on foal papers, the organization announced on Wednesday.

The association characterized the elimination of the fees as a one-time reward for support from members during a recent legislative battle, but officials on Wednesday said that they would evaluate the impact of the elimination of the fees on the organization’s budget under the hopes that it would be made permanent.

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended the temporary accreditation of a testing laboratory in Pennsylvania and has begun diverting samples that were destined to the lab to another accredited facility in Colorado, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Rep. Dina Titus, a Nevada Democrat, has introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that would erase a provision in a massive tax and spending bill passed by Congress last week that limits offsets for gambling losses.

Titus, who is co-chair of the Congressional Gambling Caucus, called the bill “common-sense legislation” and said in a social media post on Monday afternoon that the bill is gaining bipartisan support.

Wagering on U.S. Thoroughbred races fell significantly in June compared to the same month last year, but the number of races fell at a slightly higher rate, according to figures released on Friday by Equibase. 

Total wagering was down 7.18 percent to $956.8 million, a drop of $74 million from June of last year. But the number of races held at U.S. tracks in the month fell 7.58 percent, leading to an average handle per race of $322,602, just slightly higher than the average of $321,410 in June of last year. 

In May 2014, John Harris, the noted California Thoroughbred owner and breeder, had a strong rooting interest in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Race favorite California Chrome was raised at Harris Farms in central California and ran to expectations in the nation’s biggest race, winning by more than a length. Understandably, the result was an emotional moment for Harris.

“He got teary-eyed. He was so proud of the fact that his farm raised that horse,” Doug Burge, the president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association said on Thursday.

The approval on Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives of a massive tax and spending bill that includes a provision limiting gambling-loss offsets may not be as much of a disaster for horse racing and other gambling companies as it appears.