Colonial Downs in Virginia has closed four of its eight offtrack betting facilities and shut off wagering on Thoroughbred races at the remaining parlors as a result of a dispute with horsemen over racing dates at the track this year, officials said.

By Jason Wilson

“Create a televised series of racing, with innovative production and a rooting interest.”

Those 13 words constituted the first of nine recommendations issued by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. when it completed a comprehensive economic study of Thoroughbred racing for The Jockey Club in the summer of 2011.

Rick Baedeker, selected earlier this month by the California Horse Racing Board as the organization’s new executive director, begins work in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday after passing all the government-mandated background checks.

Baedeker has worked in the sport for nearly 40 years, beginning as a handicapper alongside his legendary father, Bud, and brother, Bob, with their Baedeker’s Guide. He worked in racetrack management positions at Hollywood Park and The Woodlands, and for organizations like the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and TVG.

The Illinois legislature during a one-day session Wednesday passed a bill that will extend account-wagering in the state through Feb. 1, 2017, and allow the state’s racetracks to conduct a full schedule of live racing during 2014. Later in the day, Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill into law.

The National Steeplechase Association has adopted the uniform rules document making the rounds in Thoroughbred racing states that limits horsemen to the use of 24 therapeutic medications, the steeplechase group announced.

The board voted unanimously to adopt the rules on Jan. 17, according to Bill Gallo, the group’s executive director. Prior to the vote, the board heard a presentation about the rules from Alan Foreman, an attorney who has been pushing U.S. racing states to approve the rules for the past six months.

On Jan. 31, Lou Raffetto, the longtime racing executive, will be ushering in the Year of the Horse while manning a booth at Southern California’s largest Chinese New Year’s celebration, handing out red envelopes to anyone who provides him with an email address.

Charles Hayward, the former chief executive of the New York Racing Association and Daily Racing Form Inc., has launched an on-line web publication called Thoroughbred Racing Commentary focusing on the problems facing the racing industries in jurisdictions worldwide.

BOSTON -- Even though the Massachusetts Gaming Commission isn’t scheduled to award the sole destination resort casino license designated for the Greater Boston area until sometime in May, Suffolk Downs intends to host a live meet beginning sometime in the spring of 2014.

“We plan to run this year,” said Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs after competitors Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts made their final presentations before the MGC on Jan. 22

The fifth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit will be held July 8-9 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., the organizers of the conference announced Wednesday.

The conference, which is organized by the Jockey Club and an affiliated charitable arm, the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, has in the past led to several high-profile initiatives, including the Equine Injury Database and the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory.

Representatives of Standardbred horsemen on Tuesday made their objections known to a set of medication rules that are being considered by the New York Gaming Commission to regulate both harness horses and Thoroughbred horses, complicating the efforts by Thoroughbred organizations to obtain final approval of the regulations.