Trainer Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey has been selected as the Thoroughbred Club of America’s Honored Guest for the organization’s 82nd Testimonial Dinner on September 29 at Keeneland Race Course.
The TCA Annual Testimonial Dinner honors those who have rendered distinguished service to the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Wagering on U.S. races in July was level with the same month last year despite a nearly 3 percent drop in race days, according to figures released Sunday by Equibase.
Total wagering during July was $926.9 million, up 0.2 percent from $925 million in July 2012, according to the figures. The number of race days declined 2.9 percent, from 557 last July to 541 this July, leading to average wagering per race day of $1.71 million this July, compared with average wagering per race day of $1.66 million last July.
The New York Racing Association plans to launch a new pick five wager with a 15-percent takeout at the start of the Belmont fall meet on Sept. 7, an association vice president said on Thursday.
The launch of the wager has been highly anticipated by many handicappers who have urged NYRA to place a pick five on the menu as a lower-cost alternative to the pick 6. The pick five will have a 50-cent minimum, whereas the pick six has a $2 minimum.
Upheaval on the Florida racing circuit is beginning to take a toll on Churchill Downs Inc.’s bottom line, Churchill officials said during a conference call on Thursday morning to discuss the company’s second-quarter results.
Churchill Downs Inc. had record net income of $50.3 million during the second quarter of 2013, the company announced late on Wednesday, as the company continues to reap gains from its leverage of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks while benefiting from its acquisition of standalone casinos.
Net revenues in the quarter were also a record, at $283.8 million, up 5 percent over second-quarter revenues of $270.8 million last year. Operating expenses were flat, at $82.1 million in the quarter, according to the company’s financial statements.
A group that issues model-rules recommendations to all U.S. racing jurisdictions endorsed a new points-based system to penalize medication violations during a full board meeting on Wednesday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., officials in the organization said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed a bill he supported that could potentially lead to seven more casinos in the state provided voters approve a constitutional amendment in a referendum in November.
Cuomo’s signature sets the stage for what is expected to be a massive campaign for and against the proposal leading up to the November vote. The legislation signed by Cuomo would allow for casinos in three upstate areas, including the Saratoga Springs region, the home of Saratoga Racecourse and a casino at a harness track.
D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer, has been appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in a term that expires in mid-2016, according to officials in the governor’s office.
It is the first appointment to a racing commission for Lukas, who continues to train a large racing stable. Lukas replaces Michael Pitino, the son of University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, who resigned earlier this year after moving to Florida.
Former jockey Raul Cespedes, who rode at California tracks from 1967-1982, died of cancer Monday at his home in Fontana, Calif. He was 67.
A native of Santiago, Chile, Cespedes rode in his homeland as well as Panama and Mexico before coming to California. His riding record in the U.S. included a fifth-place finish in the 1972 Belmont Stakes aboard Big Spruce and a trio of stakes wins at Golden Gate Fields: the 1969 San Francisco Mile with Wingover, the 1975 Albany Handicap with Pelegrin Sands, and the 1979 California Oaks with Whydidju.
