Bolstered by strong wagering figures on the Triple Crown races, total wagering on Thoroughbred contests held at U.S. tracks in May increased 3 percent despite a slight decline in the amount of races during the month, according to figures released by Equibase on Thursday.

Total wagering jumped nearly $42 million on the month to $1.45 billion, while the number of races held dropped by 25 to 2,933, down 0.9 percent. Per-race, average wagering was $492,879, up 3.8 percent over the May 2024 figure of $474,626.

An arbitrator for the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has used evidence drawn from the testing of hair samples to lengthen a suspension given to a trainer for a violation of the rules for the use of clenbuterol, a strictly regulated bronchial dilator that can build muscle mass when used regularly.

Two Ohio racetrack veterinarians who had been charged with possession of banned substances based on truck searches in 2023 have been given three-month suspensions for the violations, according to a document posted to the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit website. 

Oaklawn Park announced Thursday that Zack Gillham has been promoted to vice president of racing and wagering for the Hot Springs, Ark., track.

Gillham most recently served as Oaklawn’s executive director of wagering and prior to that the eight-year employee was Oaklawn’s director of sports and mutuels manager. Gillham will now oversee the racing and sports wagering operations. He has been central to “modernizing and growing” Oaklawn’s “wagering initiatives,” according to the press release.

Horses training at U.S. tracks under the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority had a fatality rate of 0.73 per 1,000 workouts in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report issued by HISA on Tuesday.

The 0.73 quarterly fatality rate was much higher than the 0.50 training fatality rate recently published by HISA for the 2024 calendar year. Because the incidents are relatively rare, quarterly data can show larger swings than data that is aggregated over an entire year.

Jockey Junior Alvarado has appealed the $62,000 fine and two-day suspension he was issued after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority concluded he violated its whipping rule during his winning ride on Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby, according to HISA records.

The fine and suspension have been stayed as a result of the appeal, according to records on HISA’s website.

All-sources handle on the weather-impacted Black-Eyed Susan Stakes card at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Friday declined slightly compared to last year, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form, but per-race handle inched up due to the cancellation of the last race on the card. 

Del Mar will offer financial incentives to the owners of horses formerly based in Northern California during its summer meeting from July 18 to Sept. 7.

According to terms issued by Del Mar officials, horses based in Northern California as of Dec. 1, 2024, who are still trained by people that were based in that part of the state, will receive $500 for their first starts at the summer meeting, and will earn a 15 percent bonus of prize money earned for first through fifth-place finishes in overnight purses throughout the summer meeting.

The California Horse Racing Board on Thursday rejected a proposal for three weekends of late summer racing at the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale, leaving no prospect for racing in the northern half of the state in the foreseeable future.

The board voted 4-3 in opposition. Chairman Greg Ferraro and commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, and Thomas Hudnut voted against the proposal, while vice chairman Oscar Gonzales and commissioners Brenda Washington-Davis and Peter Stern voted in support.

Stern was appointed to the board in late April.

Federal legislation that would abolish the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and seek to replace it with a national regulatory framework tied together by a state compact was reintroduced to Congress on Thursday.