A Pennsylvania judge has stayed the suspensions of a handful of trainers and owners who were ruled off last year after they failed to comply with broad subpoenas issued by the state racing commission.

The administrators of the Eclipse Awards have voted to issue a Special Eclipse Award this year to the people who responded to two disasters affecting the racing community in 2017 – the hurricane in September that put more than 800 horses at risk in Puerto Rico, and the wildfire in December that killed 46 horses at San Luis Rey Downs training center.

A partnership group that includes a real-estate company in Phoenix and Kentucky Downs part-owner Corey Johnsen have purchased Yavapai Downs in Prescott, Ariz., out of federal bankruptcy court, according to the partners.

The partnership, which consists of Johnsen and the real-estate company Jacor Partners, paid $3.22 million for the property, according to the partners. Live racing has not been conducted at Yavapai Downs since 2010, and the property is expected to need millions in dollars in improvements to be race-ready.

Josh Rubinstein was named president of Del Mar on Wednesday, adding to the 48-year-old executive’s existing role as the track’s chief operating officer.

The track announced the promotion in a press release, stating that Joe Harper has relinquished the title of president but will remain as chief executive officer.

Stan Fulton, an entrepreneur whose interests in gambling led him to purchase a New Mexico racetrack and several horses that went on to top-class careers, died on Jan. 4 in Las Vegas, according to multiple sources. Fulton was 86.

Fulton, a native of Maryland, owned a string of companies for several decades before founding Fortune Coin, the developer of the first video slot machines, in the 1970s. A decade later, he formed Anchor Coin, later known as Anchor Gaming, which operated casinos in Colorado and developed gambling machines.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - It was said during Monday’s funeral for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg that he had a hand in planning his own service.

By all accounts, it was Van Berg’s final winner.

A crowd estimated at 350 to 400 spent an overcast afternoon at Van Berg’s colorful ceremony, held in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center here.

Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier-Journal, the freelance writer Denise Steffanus, and the photographer Nancy Rokos have been named winners of Eclipse Awards for media categories, the administrators of the awards announced late on Friday.

Daily Racing Form has been granted an advance-deposit wagering (ADW) license by the Oregon Racing Commission in advance of the new DRF Bets platform launch in mid-February.

Equestricon, the racing-fan convention that was held for the first time last year, will be held in 2018 in Louisville, Ky., just prior to the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs in that city, the event’s organizers have announced.

Handle on U.S. horse races in 2017 rose slightly compared with the year prior as the number of races held at U.S. tracks continued to decline, according to year-end figures released Friday by Equibase.