In a Pennsylvania Racing Commission ruling dated Oct. 26, the Penn National board of stewards fined trainer Peter Miller $1,500 for his horse Richard's Boy testing positive for methamphetamine following the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor's Cup on June 3.
Richard's Boy finished second by a head to Bold Thunder in the five-furlong turf sprint, but was placed first by the stewards, who disqualified Bold Thunder to second for ducking out in midstretch.
Blessed by fabulous weather - until closing day, that is - the 2017 Belmont Park fall meet enjoyed gains in all-sources handle compared to the 2016 Belmont fall season.
All-sources handle for the 35-day Belmont fall meet was $303,405,927, a 3.6 percent increase over the 2016 figure of $292,799,814, when the Belmont fall meet was 38 days long. This year’s fall meet was scheduled for 36 days, but Sunday’s closing-day card was cancelled due to wind and rain.
The former owners of Suffolk Downs and two organizations representing horsemen and breeders in Massachusetts have formed a partnership to push for a bill that would allow casino subsidies to be used for the construction of a new track in the state.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Total handle on Keeneland’s races during the track’s 17-day fall meet was down 8.7 percent compared with wagering during the fall meet last year, according to figures provided by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a decline that strongly suggested the track’s betting figures suffered from calls to boycott the track because of its recent decision to raise its takeout rates.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita showed growth in key attendance and handle categories at the autumn meeting that ended on Sunday, according to Nate Newby, the track’s vice president of marketing.
Newby said total all-sources handle at the 19-day meeting rose 8 percent compared with the 2015 autumn meeting. Ontrack handle improved 2 percent, while attendance grew 16 percent. The track did not release extensive attendance and handle data.
Newby said comparisons were done between the 2015 and 2017 meetings since the 2016 meeting at Santa Anita included the Breeders’ Cup races.
ARCADIA, Calif. – After months of discussions, at times heated, racing dates for the 2018 season in Northern California were finalized at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting.
The dates are largely similar to the 2017 season, with one less week of racing at the Cal Expo-State Fair meeting in Sacramento, and one week in which the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale is the only racing in the north.
Golden Gate Fields will have the bulk of the dates, from Dec. 26 to June 12, Aug. 22 to Oct. 2, and Oct. 17 to Dec. 18.
Woodford Reserve, a bourbon brand of the Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp., will become the new presenting sponsor next year of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs under a five-year agreement reached between Churchill and the liquor company.
Woodford Reserve will replace Yum! Brands as the presenting sponsor of the Derby, two years prior to the expiration of Yum! Brands’s current sponsorship contract with Churchill. Under the new contract, the Derby will be formally called the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the two companies said.
Delaware Park wagering increased 1.9 percent this year from 2016, with the meet handling a total of $95.77 million, up from $93.95 million a year ago. Both meets consisted of 81 live dates.
"While we were pleased with results of the 2017 meet, we are also well aware of the challenges before us," said Kevin DeLucia, senior vice president of racing/finance. "The reality of conflicting dates from other racetracks and the competitive casino environment in the region present difficult obstacles to overcome."
Beverly Lewis, who with her late husband Bob campaigned Hall of Famer Serena’s Song and the dual classic-winning champions Silver Charm and Charismatic, died Oct. 20 at age 90.
The Lewises, who purchased their first horses together in 1990, were honored with the 1997 Eclipse Award of Merit, and also won the 1995 Big Sport of Turfdom Award.