Penn National Gaming Inc. is seeking to unload its 49 percent stake in the Maryland Jockey Club, the owner of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park in Maryland, according to representatives of Penn National and its partner in the MJC, MI Developments.

Dragged down by a $76.7 million loss from its racing operations, MI Developments, the parent company of Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, and other racing assets, lost $52 million in 2010, according to financial statements released by the company late on Thursday.

The Kentucky House passed a bill on Friday that will allow the state to join with other states in passing rules affecting the regulation of racing through an interstate compact. The bill will be sent to Gov. Steve Beshear, who has indicated that he supports the legislation.

Kentucky is the first state to pass such legislation. A total of six states will need to pass similar bills in order to put the interstate compact into effect.

Boosted by significantly higher purses at Santa Anita Park, purses distributed in February at U.S. racetracks rose 9.39 percent compared to February of 2010 even as wagering on U.S. races continued to decline, according to figures released on Friday by Equibase.

Greg Avioli resigned as president and chief executive officer of the Breeders’ Cup on Friday in order to take a new position managing the racing assets that Frank Stronach is expected to control by the end of March, according to Breeders’ Cup and several racing officials.

Greg Avioli, the president and CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited, resigned on Friday to take a position with a new racing and gaming company, according to a release from Breeders' Cup.

The Breeders' Cup board will meet next week to discuss interim leadership and how it will choose  the organization’s next CEO, Breeders' Cup chairman Bill Farish said in the release.

An operator error at a data center in Sacramento, Calif., caused betting to continue at some California simulcast locations for five minutes after the first race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 26, although no bets placed after the start of the race were honored, the California Horse Racing Board said in a statement released on Tuesday.

The racing board conducted a month-long inquiry into the incident, in which bets from California were not merged with the host track, Turf Paradise, for that day’s first race.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course averted a potentially disastrous dates conflict at the 11th hour when they amended their dates applications with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Monday afternoon.

Monday was the final day for both tracks to amend dates applications for the fiscal period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Racing dates in Florida have been deregulated since 2002.

Hialeah Park has filed a lawsuit alleging that Calder Race Course and a nearby dog track have conspired against the track’s efforts to open a casino.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 11 in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, alleges that Calder, which is owned by Churchill Downs Inc., and Flagler Dog Track, in Hialeah, have conspired to use the legislative and judicial process to deny a slot-machine license to Hialeah.