Golden State Racing recently finalized paperwork with the California Horse Racing Board for its new autumn race meeting at the Alameda county fair in Pleasanton, Calif., that will begin on Oct. 19, two racing officials confirmed this week.

Golden State Racing, a group of owners, breeders, and trainers working with the California Authority of Racing Fairs, reached an agreement with the Thoroughbred Owners of California for a daily purse distribution of approximately $170,000 at the 26-day meeting, which runs through Dec. 15.

A U.S. court of appeals has ruled that a constitutional challenge to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is “unlikely to succeed on its merits,” striking down a request for preliminary injunction that would have removed the states of Arkansas, Iowa, and Minnesota from HISA’s jurisdiction.

Natalia Lynch, a trainer who has been suspended for the past 14 months, has been reinstated to good standing after reaching a settlement with the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit that frees her to return to training, according to statements and filings in the case.

The nine-week Golden State Racing meeting beginning at Pleasanton on Oct. 19 will have a daily purse distribution of approximately $170,000, a condition determined after a tense, and sometimes heated, California Horse Racing Board meeting in Sacramento on Thursday.

Golden State Racing, a consortium of Northern California-based owners, trainers and breeders and the California Authority of Racing Fairs, will operate the meeting on a three-day per week basis with approximately 24 races per week. Those terms have not been in dispute.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has proposed a new rule that would eliminate the consideration of purses when determining assessments on racetracks and their horsemen and instead base the assessments solely on the number of starts.

Freehold Raceway, a New Jersey harness track with 170 years of history, will close at the end of the year, according to a notice sent by the track’s parent company to employees and a later announcement.

The notice, which was obtained by Daily Racing Form, states that the employees will be laid off as of Dec. 28, the last day of racing for Freehold’s 2024 meet. The notice was sent by the track’s general manager, Howard Bruno, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Purse levels for the upcoming Golden State Racing meeting in Pleasanton, Calif., remained unresolved as of Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours before the first-ever race season is subject to the approval of the California Horse Racing Board at its monthly meeting in Sacramento.

Golden State Racing organizers have scheduled a nine-week meeting from Oct. 19 to Dec. 15 on the Alameda county fairgrounds to replace dates previously run at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, which closed permanently in June.

An investigation conducted by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit into the capabilities of the drug-testing laboratory at the University of Kentucky found that the lab was out of compliance with a handful of HIWU’s rules and that the former lab director had lied about certain test results, according to a report released by HIWU on Tuesday.

Average handle and total handle during the recently concluded Emerald Downs meet in Auburn, Wash., both declined by double digits, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form, while the average purse inched up 4.0 percent.

Total handle dropped from $60.1 million to $48.4 million, according to the analysis, while average handle per race dropped 18.9 percent, to $113,234. Emerald Downs ran three more race cards this year than last year but four fewer races, as the track attempted to deal with a shortage of horses throughout the west.

Parx racetrack outside Philadelphia plans to resume racing on its turf course later this month, with the goal of having the course race-ready by Sept. 21, when the track runs its richest race, the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, and 10 other stakes races, according to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.