SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Racing industry officials defended the revenue shares that racetracks, horsemen, and breeders receive from casinos on Wednesday, a day after the state comptroller released a report contending that the revenue shares had not resulted in any gains in attendance and handle at New York tracks.
Industry officials made their comments at the annual Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law conference.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Racing needs to devise an “industry-wide approach” to funding and operating post-retirement programs for racehorses so that all facets of the sport contribute to the effort, several officials who spoke at the Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law conference on Tuesday said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The racing industry’s effort to police and enforce its medication rules could benefit by the adoption of a top-down structure employed by the countries that participate in the Olympic Games, the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency said Sunday at the Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing.
New Jersey’s newest offtrack wagering facility – the luxurious, 25,000-square foot Winners in Bayonne – opened last month with the hype that it could replicate the $5 million of revenue produced annually by Favorites, a similar facility in nearby Woodbridge.
But on a recent weekday afternoon the 150 televisions outnumbered the patrons at Winners, where handle has not lived up to the expectations of owner Jeff Gural, who also operates Meadowlands racetrack.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Jockey Club is expected to make an additional push for the adoption of a proposed set of tougher medication rules and penalties as part of its presentations Sunday during the organization’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing.
The 2013 Breeders’ Cup will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California, and the marquee $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic will be broadcast in prime time on the East Coast, the organization announced on Thursday.
The selection of Santa Anita Park will mark the seventh time that the track has been picked to host the event and the second time that the warm-weather track has been selected to host consecutive editions. Santa Anita will host this year’s two-day event on Nov. 2-3.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley called a special session of the state legislature on Tuesday in order to push a plan to legalize table games at the state’s casinos and cut the casinos’ tax rates.
The legislation would also add approvals for a sixth casino in the state, to be located in Prince George’s County, either at a harbor site or at Rosecroft Raceway, the harness track owned by major casino operator Penn National Gaming Inc.
National amateur and professional sports organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday in New Jersey challenging the state’s plan to allow gambling on sporting contests at racetracks and casinos.
The suit claims that legislation passed earlier this year allowing for sports gambling violates a federal statute passed in 1992 that banned gambling on sports contests except in states in which it was already legal or in states that used a one-year window following the passage of the act to approve the practice. New Jersey did not act to allow gambling during that window.
Wagering on U.S. horse races plummeted in July by 7.4 percent, nearly erasing the encouraging gains made throughout the first six months of the year, according to figures released by Equibase.
Total wagering on races held at U.S. tracks, including international simulcast handle, dropped from $999.0 million in July last year to $925.5 million this year, according to the figures. This year’s July included nine weekend days, while last year’s July included 10 weekend days.
A proposal to crack down on cheating in racing would refer some drug violations to law-enforcement agencies and subject veterinarians to sanctions by state licensing boards, though the effort may face significant hurdles as the rules are discussed further.