A set of recommendations released by Democrats in the New Jersey Senate that would legalize exchange wagering and streamline the approval process for local offtrack betting outlets was met with limited approval from state racing officials on Tuesday.

MI Developments will hire a financial adviser to perform an evaluation of an offer by its chairman, Frank Stronach, to buy all of the outstanding stock in the company, chief executive Dennis Mills said Wednesday.

The financial adviser – who could be named as early as Wednesday night – would conduct the evaluation over the course of the next three weeks, Mills said. Mills said the financial adviser would have no connection to MI Developments, its related companies, or members of the company’s board.

Sportech U.K., a British gambling company, has completed its acquisition of the racing assets of Scientific Games, a deal that includes one of the three large bet-processing operations in the U.S. racing industry, the companies announced on Friday.

U.S. live race days continued to plummet in September, contributing to further declines in total handle and purse distribution during the month, according to figures released by Equibase on Wednesday.

Shares in the racetrack operator MI Developments rose again on Tuesday, by 3.3 percent to $14.56, to remain well above a recent offer tendered by the company's chairman, Frank Stronach, to buy all of the stock in the company that he does not already own for $13 a share.

Trading volume on Tuesday was 492,000 shares, about six times the average trading volume for the stock. On Monday, the stock rose 32 percent, to $14.09, on trading volume of about 10 times the average.

The bankrupt New York City Off Track Betting Corporation has reached a tentative deal with its union that would result in the loss of 550 jobs at the company and the transfer of OTB’s account-wagering operations to state racetrack operators, including the New York Racing Association, according to the union.

The union’s members are scheduled to vote on the plan on Oct. 6. Full-time employees are being offered $12,000 in severance if they agreed to be laid off, according to a report of the plan on the union’s website. The OTB company currently has about 1,300 union employees.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill on Thursday that will increase the takeout on exotic bets on California races to fund an increase in overnight purses beginning this winter.

The announcement of the governor's signature was made by Keith Brackpool, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, at Thursday's meeting of the board. Brackpool said the governor would make a formal statement about the bill Friday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an emergency regulation that would allow horseracing regulators to draw samples from racehorses at any location, and at any time.

Churchill Downs Inc., the publicly traded owner of four racetracks, has reached an agreement to buy a Mississippi hotel and casino for $138 million, in a deal that could land the company its first non-racing property, Churchill announced Monday morning.

Race days at U.S. racetracks in the month of August plummeted 13.2 percent, or a total of 86 dates, a decline that contributed to steep drops in wagering and purse distribution in the month compared with August of last year, according to figures released Friday by Equibase.