A coalition of racetracks and racing organizations have pledged to provide the funding for a Maine-based laboratory that will conduct research into racetrack surfaces and their maintenance, the coalition announced on Friday.

Magna Entertainment Corp. and its bankruptcy attorneys criticized Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's bid Wednesday to assert eminent domain powers over the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, saying passage of the legislation could lead to more litigation.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Speaking before a racing safety information kiosk just inside the entrance to Churchill Downs, National Thoroughbred Racing Association and track officials announced Thursday that Churchill Downs has been fully accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance. The track is the first to be evaluated and designated by the alliance.

The accreditation of Churchill Downs came following a written application from the track, meetings with alliance representatives, and onsite evaluations from alliance and veterinary officials.

Greg Rayburn, a senior managing director of the corporate-restructuring consulting company FTI Palladium, has been named interim chief executive officer of the bankrupt racetrack operator Magna Entertainment Corp., Magna announced late on Tuesday night.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a request by Ellis Park to run a 23-day meet in 2009, down sharply from the track's earlier request to run 48 days during the late-summer months.

Wagering on Thoroughbred races in the United States continued to plummet in March compared with the same month last year, falling 13.9 percent, according to figures released by Equibase on Friday.

Wagering dropped from $1.24 billion in March last year to $1.06 billion in March this year, according to the figures. The declines come on top of an 11.6 percent drop in February and a 1.6 percent drop in January, a month in which the handle figures were buoyed by an 8 percent increase in race days.

A second suitor for the Maryland tracks owned by the bankrupt racetrack operator Magna Entertainment Corp. has emerged.

Carl Verstandig, the chief executive of America's Realty, a real-estate development company, said Friday that his company is in discussions with Magna's bankruptcy adviser, Miller Buckfire, about a bid to buy Laurel Park and Pimlico Racecourse. But Verstandig said that the company would not bid on the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, which is held annually at Pimlico in Baltimore every year.

The Cordish Cos., a Baltimore-based real estate development company, will attempt to buy Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park, and Bowie Training Center in Maryland from bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., the company's chief, David Cordish, said Thursday.

Magna Entertainment Corp. plans to ask a Delaware bankruptcy judge to put off by several weeks the consideration of several motions that are currently scheduled for a hearing on Friday, including the approval of a plan to auction off its properties, according to court filings and an official involved in the bankruptcy.

MI Developments, the controlling shareholder of bankrupt racing operator Magna Entertainment Corp., plans to operate the assets it buys from Magna Entertainment through a wholly owned subsidiary until at least 2012, the company said Friday in a release accompanying documents detailing its 2008 financial performance.