There were five horse-racing bills filed in the Texas Legislature last week, including bills seeking historical racing and account wagering. The next step for all of the bills is to obtain committee hearings, according to an announcement on the filings put out by both the Texas Thoroughbred Association and the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership.

Separate budget proposals from the New York Assembly and Senate have rejected several aspects of a plan by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reorganize the board of the New York Racing Association and grant new powers to a NYRA oversight agency.

The Charles Town Classic on April 22 will be televised on FOX Sports 2 as part of the New York Racing Association’s expanded broadcast schedule with the network.

The $1.25 million Charles Town Classic will be part of a NYRA program that will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Horses under consideration for the Classic include last year’s winner, Stanford, and Sunny Ridge, who won the Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct last Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- A formful card on Sunday at Santa Anita resulted in a $3,035 payoff to 186 winning pick six tickets, and helped propel the carryover in the single-ticket jackpot to a robust $255,341.88 when racing resumes on Thursday.
Five of the winners were favorites. The consolation for 5 of 6 paid $24.60.
The single-ticket jackpot has not been hit for 11 racing days, since Feb. 20.

ARCADIA, Calif.- There are two carryovers in the pick six at Santa Anita on Sunday.

The conventional pick six pool has a carryover of $189,246, while the single ticket jackpot pool has a carryover of $175,361.The single ticket pool has not been hit in 10 racing days, since Feb. 20.

The carryovers are likely to lead to a pick six pool in excess of $750,000 on Sunday.

The single ticket portion of the pool will be paid out only if there is one winning ticket in the pick six on Sunday.

The overall fatality rate on all racing surfaces dropped in 2016 to 1.54 per 1,000 starts, the lowest rate recorded since a project was launched to collect data on fatalities beginning in 2009, according to figures released by The Jockey Club on Friday.

According to the data, 483 horses suffered fatal injuries within 72 hours of racing from 314,459 overall starts at U.S. tracks in 2016. The rate of 1.54 per 1,000 was down 5 percent from the 2015 rate of 1.62 and down 23 percent from the 2.00 rate recorded in 2009, according to the data.

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. went to a specialist Monday to address a separated shoulder he sustained in a spill last week at Oaklawn, and he received clearance to ride, according to his agent, Ruben Munoz.

Munoz said tests revealed Santana has equal strength in both arms. Munoz said the specialist felt Santana’s excellent health as a professional athlete, coupled with his young age, contributed to the quicker-than-anticipated recovery. Santana, 24, is a multiple title winner at Oaklawn.

Retired jockey agent Joe Verrone died at age 93 on Feb. 27.

Verrone, widely known as Little Joe, became a jockey and then an agent after serving in the Army during World War II. Over the years, he represented riders Bill Hartack, Paul Kallai, Nick Santagata, and Danny Nied.

A celebration of Verrone’s life is scheduled for March 18 at 10 a.m. at the Oakland United Methodist Church in his hometown of Johnstown, Pa.

Larry Melancon is showing encouraging signs while recovering in a North Carolina hospital, where the retired jockey has been in critical care since undergoing six hours of surgery last weekend following a major stroke.

Trainer Al Stall Jr., for whom Melancon worked as an assistant and exercise rider in recent years, said he talked by phone Tuesday with Melancon.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Daily Racing Form’s Joe Nevills has been named a Sovereign Award media finalist for the second consecutive year, as the Jockey Club of Canada announced the list of finalists in three media categories on Tuesday.