A wide-ranging tax and spending bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Monday contains language that would limit the tax offset for gambling losses to 90 percent of total winnings, a change to long-standing policy that could have significant impacts on horseracing and other forms of gambling.

Churchill Downs concluded a successful 43-day spring race meet on June 29, posting nearly across-the-board gains in key metrics compared to the 2024 spring meeting.

Churchill, according to a database query performed by Daily Racing Form, hosted 416 races, two fewer than last year, and betting interests for the meet fell from 3,432 to 3,400. Field size slipped from 8.21 starters per race during 2024’s meet to 8.17 this spring – but all of Churchill’s handle numbers rose.

Dr. Mary Scollay, one of the most accomplished and respected equine medical regulators in Thoroughbred racing, has retired from her full-time duties as chief of science for the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit but will continue to serve as a consultant to the organization, HIWU announced on Tuesday. 

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed down an order requiring the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court to issue a new ruling on the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the private company that administers regulations in most major racing states.  

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has established a committee to advise on health and well-being matters experienced by jockeys, HISA announced on Friday.

The Medical Advisory Committee will consist of “licensed medical professionals from a variety of specialties,” HISA said, including “sports medicine, emergency medicine, orthopedics, neurology, cardiology, trauma care, mental health, or other medical disciplines.”

The Louisiana State Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a meet at Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans running from Thanksgiving week in November to the third week of March, with specific dates to be determined after horsemen and the track make an assessment in August about the available subsidies from other forms of gambling.

The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association on Wednesday issued a notice of guidance to its membership and to U.S. racetracks claiming that no agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or any individual representing ICE should be allowed on the backstretch of a racetrack without an official warrant.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has updated the Thoroughbred Rules of Racing with the intent of improving racehorse health and safety “aligned with ongoing efforts to enhance welfare and support industry sustainability,” according to a release put out by the AGCO.

The release stated the changes are meant to ensure that only healthy horses are permitted to race, and that horses recovering from injury are provided the time and care they need to recover before returning to work. The rule changes go into effect June 23.

DRF Bets, the account-wagering operation launched by Daily Racing Form in 2011, has been sold to 1/ST Technology, a subsidiary of 1/ST Racing and Gaming, and all customers of the operation will be immediately transitioned to 1/ST’s XpressBet account-wagering operation on Tuesday, the two companies announced.

All-sources single-race betting on the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York was up 5 percent compared to betting in the same pools last year, according to charts of the races.

Betting in the win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta pools this year was $53.77 million, according to the chart of the race, compared to $51.19 million last year. This year’s Belmont had eight horses, while last year’s Belmont, also at Saratoga, had a nine-horse field.