A key Florida Senate committee removed two massive gambling deals from its docket on Tuesday, intensifying doubts that the full state legislature will allow bills radically changing the Florida gambling landscape to go forward this session.

Senator Tom Lee, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced at the beginning of what was expected to be a marathon committee meeting on Tuesday that the two bills had been removed. He was non-committal about whether the committee would schedule the bills for another hearing.

A Florida House committee advanced a bill on Monday containing revisions to an earlier bill approving a proposed gambling compact with the Seminole tribe, leaving intact most provisions affecting the horse-racing industry.

The New York State Gaming Commission on Monday unanimously approved a rule banning the use of the anabolic steroid stanozolol, effective at the end of August, six months from the approval date.

The gaming commission had approved the rule for public comment last year. National racing groups have endorsed a recommendation for racing states to ban any anabolic steroid that is not naturally occurring, and adoption of the rule would align New York with that recommendation.

A horse-racing medication advisory group has recommended three new higher thresholds for substances on its regulated medications list, citing new research into the pharmacological effects of the drugs, according to a release from the group.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which is funded by a wide cross section of equine racing organizations, released the recommendations following a board meeting Feb. 23 in Florida. The recommended new thresholds apply to two sedatives/analgesics and a widely used anti-ulcer medication.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Darren Egan, suspended 12 years by British horse racing officials in February for failing to put forth his best effort in two races in 2013, has been suspended by California Horse Racing Board officials from working an exercise rider at Santa Anita.

Egan, 24, has worked as an exercise rider in California for nearly a year. He has not ridden in England since October 2013.

Legislation in Florida that would allow many of the state’s parimutuel facilities to close while retaining their casino licenses has the potential to usher in a day of reckoning for the U.S. racing industry, with $400 million in annual casino subsidies at stake at tracks throughout the country.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Handle at all California tracks rose 1.9 percent in January, to $273.7 million, according to figures announced at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting at Santa Anita.

There were gains in handle figures on the daytime Thoroughbred programs and Quarter Horse and Standardbred programs at night.

The growth occurred largely through account wagering which offset declines in ontrack business. Account wagering on all breeds grew by 5.1 percent, to $48.9 million. Ontrack handle declined 1.9 percent, to $29.6 million.

Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., on Thursday released its 2016 stakes schedule composed of 36 stakes worth $4.4 million and highlighted by the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby on July 16.

The Texas Racing Commission received notice from the state's legislative budget board on Thursday that its operations are now fully funded. The agency has been operating on a temporary plan covering its administrative costs.

The temporary funding was to end Monday, a situation that threatened to shut down racing in the state March 1. However, a shutdown was averted with the release of the administrative funding Thursday. The full funding is in effect until the current appropriations period ends Aug. 31, 2017, which is standard operating procedure for all state agencies in Texas.

Churchill Downs Inc., the multi-faceted entertainment and gambling company that owns Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., had net income of $65.2 million in 2015, up 40.5 percent compared with net revenue of $46.4 million in 2014, according to financial statements released late on Wednesday.