ARCADIA, Calif. - Handle on horse races throughout California declined in 2015, but the sport showed a slight increase in the number of racing days and average field size, according to an annual report published last week by the California Horse Racing Board.
The report, published on the racing board’s website, gave an overview of a wide variety of business and sporting activities in California’s Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred racing circuits.
The spread of equine herpesvirus from Sunland Park in New Mexico, where 49 horses have tested positive, to other states, has led Remington Park in Oklahoma to delay the opening of its stable area for the Quarter Horse meet that is set to begin March 11.
Remington was to open its stable area Monday, Feb. 8, but has pushed that back to Feb. 12. The first day of training will be Feb. 13, and the first training races will be held Feb. 17.
Florida Thoroughbred interests spent Friday lobbying at the state capitol as legislators began negotiating wide-ranging gambling bills that could include language allowing racetracks to drop their parimutuel operations while retaining their licenses for casino-type games, according to state officials.
Wagering on U.S. races in January was up 2.2 percent over betting on U.S. races in January 2015, while the number of races held during the month fell 6.1 percent, according to figures released Thursday by Equibase.
Wagering during January was $830.5 million, according to the figures, compared with $812.6 million in January 2015. The number of races held last month was 2,392, compared with 2,547 in January 2015.
Penn National Gaming Inc., the operator of 27 gambling facilities in the U.S. and Canada, had revenue of $2.84 billion in 2015, according to the company, but it has yet to release any net income figures for the year due to a need to restate its financial statements.
A single ticket had all six winners in a sequence of races at Portland Meadows on Monday called the Rainbow 6 Jackpot, requiring the track to put up tens of thousands of dollars to satisfy the betting pool’s $100,000 guarantee.
The winning ticket paid $78,000, the amount of the guaranteed pool minus a theoretical 22 percent takeout. The carryover going into the Monday sequence was $20,274, and $22,622 more was wagered into the pool, according to mutuel records, so Portland Meadows had to contribute approximately $35,000 toward the payout.
Two Kentucky state senators have introduced a bill that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot calling for casinos in Kentucky, but the bill has little to no chance of passing, according to lobbyists.
The bill was introduced to the Senate by Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat, and Sen. Julie Raque Adams, a Republican, despite opposition from Gov. Matt Bevin to expanded gambling. The bill would use taxes on casinos to provide funding for the state’s beleaguered pension plans and to subsidize horse-racing purses.
Jay Hickey, the president of the American Horse Council since 1993, announced his retirement on Tuesday, effective June 30, the AHC said.
Hickey, 71, has been on the AHC staff for 27 years. While president, he directed the lobbying efforts of the organization and communicated with equine constituencies on their concerns and the prospects of equine-related legislation.