Larry Swartzlander finally got the interim tag removed from his title and has been named executive director of the California Authority of Racing Fairs.

Swartzlander, who served 21 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel, has been with CARF for 15 years, serving in facility management and racing operations as director of racing and chief operating officer before taking over as interim executive director upon the retirement of Chris Korby in November 2016.

Total wagering on U.S. races in November was up 6.4 percent compared to the same month last year, according to figures released Thursday by Equibase, a surge that has been attributed to new IRS regulations that went into effect in late September that are highly favorable to horseplayers.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Bet takers in the U.S. could put in place several new betting options already in place in other countries in order to drive up betting on U.S. races, the heads of several betting companies from Australia and the United Kingdom said on a Wednesday afternoon panel at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing.

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Supreme Court is likely to strike down a federal law that prohibits states from authorizing sports wagering next spring, leading perhaps a half-dozen states to legalize the practice in the next five years, according to lobbyists and experts in gambling law who appeared on a Wednesday panel at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing.

Javier Castellano, the Eclipse Award-winning jockey the past four years, is among five veteran riders who are finalists for the 2018 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, it was announced on Wednesday morning by Santa Anita, which has presented the award annually since 1950.

In addition to Castellano, the other finalists are Alex Birzer, Jose Ferrer, Rodney Prescott, and Joe Talamo. The winner will be determined by a vote of the riders’ peers, members of the Jockeys’ Guild.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A succession of racing analysts appearing on a Tuesday panel at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing urged racetracks in the U.S. to lower takeout rates for single-race bets such as win and exacta wagers in order to reverse protracted declines in betting on horse racing.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A succession of racing analysts appearing on a Tuesday panel at the University of Arizona Global Symposium on Racing urged racetracks in the U.S. to lower takeout rates for single-race bets such as win and exacta wagers in order to reverse protracted declines in betting on horse racing.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case focusing on whether the federal government is within its rights to prohibit states from authorizing gambling on sports, with the discussion centering on whether a current federal law violates a principle disallowing the federal government from “commandeering” policy at the state level, according to published reports after the oral arguments concluded.

A legal fight that began five years ago with New Jersey’s attempt to help its struggling casino industry will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, as the highest court in the land is scheduled to hear oral arguments over whether states have the power to legalize sports gambling.

The Delaware Handicap has been downgraded from a Grade 1 race to a Grade 2 race as part of the annual review of all graded stakes races in the U.S., according to the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The Delaware Handicap was the only Grade 1 race downgraded for 2018, and no Grade 2 races were upgraded to Grade 1, the committee announced Friday. In total, the committee assigned grades to a total of 455 races, an overall decline of nine graded races.