A federal appeals court has struck another blow to New Jersey’s efforts to allow sports betting by upholding an earlier ruling that said the practice violated federal law.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia released the decision on Tuesday morning, upholding the opinion of a U.S. District Court judge in Trenton, N.J. The circuit court wrote that a law passed last year allowing for sports betting at New Jersey casinos and racetracks would violate a 1992 federal act outlawing sports betting with a few exceptions.

Blue Grass Farms Charities will hold its annual fundraiser on Oct. 18 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort and Spa in Lexington, Ky., with several special guests attending in honor of the organization’s 10-year anniversary.

MTR Gaming Inc., the owner and operator of racetrack-casinos Mountaineer Park, Presque Isle Downs, and Scioto Downs, has reached an agreement to merge with Eldorado Resorts, a private company that operates three casinos, the two companies announced on Monday.

The New York State Gaming Commission on Monday unanimously approved a rule that will require the trainer of a claimed horse to provide records of corticosteroid administrations to the horse’s new trainer and owner within 48 hours of the claim.

A study conducted by the University of Kentucky has concluded that the equine industry in Kentucky has an approximate annual economic impact of $3 billion, with $1.78 billion of that total comprising direct economic output.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Since 2008, regulators in five states, many times with little or no notice, have arrived at racetracks, training centers, and farms to pull blood and urine samples from nearly 10,000 Thoroughbreds. Under new rules allowing the regulators to target horses for drug tests even if they are not entered in a race, they’ve sought out evidence of long-lasting, hard-to-detect drugs that have been rumored to be in widespread use in Thoroughbred racing for a decade, without concrete proof of abuse.

Not one sample has returned a positive.

Penn National Gaming Inc. has purchased an option to buy the harness-track Plainridge Racecourse in Massachusetts, conditional on the company’s efforts to secure the lone license in the state available for a slot-machine parlor, the company announced late Tuesday.

The effort is the third by Penn National to secure a gambling license in Massachusetts, where casino developers are battling over three full casino licenses as well. Penn had earlier attempted to win a casino license in Springfield and the slots license in Tewksbury, but both efforts were unsuccessful.

Handle on U.S. races jumped a healthy 4.7 percent in August of this year compared with last August, according to figures released by Equibase on Wednesday, driving year-to-date handle into positive territory for the first time this year.

Handle on U.S. races was $1,147,685,805 in August, up $51 million compared to August handle last year of $1,096,304,338, according to the figures. The results were driven by strong handle numbers at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California, where wagering has been up nearly 10 percent since the meet started in July.

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DEL MAR, Calif. – Egg Drop, who survived a spirited stretch run and a stewards’ inquiry to win the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap on Monday at Del Mar, emerged from the race in good condition and will be pointed to the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park as a year-end goal, with an intermediate stop at Santa Anita’s fall meeting, according to Phil D’Amato, assistant to Egg Drop’s trainer, Mike Mitchell.

STANTON, Del. - Michael,"Mickey" Crock, who trained horses for more than 60 years, died Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., at age 85.

Crock, a Korean War veteran, raced at a number of tracks during his career, including Charlestown, old Foxboro, Rockingham Park, Penn National, and Delaware Park. During the last 20 years the Wheeling, W.Va., native was assisted by his wife of 46 years, Gail, who survives him. He had lived most of his life in Willingboro, N.J., and West Pittston, Pa.