A New Jersey judge has ruled that four major professional sports organizations and the NCAA have standing to challenge a law that authorizes sports betting in the state.

In making the Dec. 21 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp rejected arguments from New Jersey seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the leagues and the NCAA. Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and the NCAA filed suit in August challenging the 2012 law, contending that it violates a 1992 federal law prohibiting sports betting in any state that did not allow the practice prior to 1991.

A partnership of Churchill Downs Inc. and Delaware North Cos. closed a deal Friday to purchase the remaining assets of the group that owned Lebanon Raceway in Lebanon, Ohio, clearing the way for construction to begin on a new casino and racetrack midway between Cincinnati and Dayton.

Valley Meat Co., which hopes to build a new horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico, has filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture, saying the agency’s delay in responding to Valley Meat’s application has cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Illinois residents will be unable to bet with account-wagering operators beginning Jan. 1 because the state legislature adjourned for the year without extending a law making the practice legal, officials for the Illinois Racing Board confirmed Thursday.

The blackout could prove to be temporary if the legislature immediately passes a bill when it re-convenes Jan. 3, according to IRB executive director Marc Laino, but as of now, Illinois residents who were hoping to spend the New Year holiday playing the horses from home are out of luck.

Sportech, the British gambling company that acquired the bet-processing business of Scientific Games Racing in 2010, has reached a deal to buy eBet Technologies, an account-wagering services provider, the company announced on Thursday.

A U.S. federal judge indicated after a hearing on Tuesday that he would issue a ruling by Friday as to whether professional sports leagues have standing to challenge a New Jersey law that would allow gambling on sports at the state's casinos and racetracks, according to an official who attended the hearing.

Southern California owner and breeder Larry Mabee, son of the late California Racing Hall of Fame members John and Betty Mabee and owner of Golden Eagle Farm, died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., on Sunday from prostate cancer. He was 69.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid will no longer pursue federal legislation that would legalize online poker during this year’s lame-duck session, an official from the senator’s office told a Las Vegas newspaper.

The owners of Beulah Park and River Downs in Ohio have reached a tentative agreement to run 65 days of live racing at Beulah under the River license in 2013, according to an official involved in the discussion.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission on Friday approved two plans that will each provide a total of 114 Thoroughbred racing dates in the state for next year, a reduction of nine live racing dates from the number run this year.

The two plans were approved at the request of New Centaur Gaming Inc., the owner of Hoosier Park, after the commission approved the company’s purchase of Indiana’s other racetrack, Indiana Downs. New Centaur reached an agreement to buy Indiana Downs and its casino for $500 million last year after the bankruptcy of the track’s parent company.