A bill that would add a 0.5 percent tax to all wagers made by Kentucky residents through account-wagering operations on Kentucky races was passed by the Kentucky House late Friday.
The bill, which would raise $400,000 annually, according its sponsors, was passed by a vote of 85-8, with one abstention, and was sent to the Senate. The Kentucky racing industry has not acknowledged supporting or opposing the bill.
The developer of a slot-machine casino near Laurel Park in Maryland has filed a lawsuit against the Anne Arundel County Board of Supervisors of Elections, alleging the board has ignored irregularities in a petition drive sponsored by Laurel's owner, Magna Entertainment.
An auction of the two Maryland tracks owned by the bankrupt racing company Magna Entertainment has been pushed back for the fourth time, to March 25, and may be delayed again, according to court papers.
The tracks, Laurel and Pimlico, were scheduled to go to auction on Tuesday, but Magna requested that the auction be delayed to the March date. A court order approving the rescheduling noted that the auction and a hearing to approve any sale of the tracks "may be further adjourned."
The New York Thoroughbred Breeders announced the finalists Friday for the state's New York-bred divisional champions. New york turf writers will vote to determine the statebred champions, New York-bred Horse of the Year, and a new award, New York-bred Horse of the Decade. An awards banquet will take place April 12 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Divisional nominees are as follows:
Champion 2-year-old male:
City Trooper
Fenway Faithful
Ibboyee
Make Note
Zip Quik
New York Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday night made available documents related to the process to select an operator for a casino at Aqueduct racetrack, but the documents shed little light on how political leaders made the lucrative choice.
The documents, which were posted on Paterson's website, include the original request for proposals issued by the state, the responses of six bidders to the request, supplemental information provided by the bidders, and an analysis by a consulting group of the bidders' estimates for cash flow from the casino.
All-sources handle on U.S. Thoroughbred races in January was down 12 percent this year compared to last year and purses were down 10 percent, according to figures provided by Equibase on Thursday. The declines continued a sharp downward trend that began with the onset of the recession 18 months ago.
Handle declined from $1.042 billion to $917 million, while purses declined from $70.7 million to $63.6 million. Race days were down 8 percent, from 376 days in January last year to 346 days in January this year.
Sportech, a British gambling company, has reached a deal to buy the bet-processing company owned by Scientific Games in a deal with a value of as much as $83 million, the companies announced Wednesday.
If approved by shareholders, Sportech would gain control of Scientific Games Racing, which processes parimutuel bets for a variety of racing companies in North America, including all of the racetracks and betting sites in California. Scientific Games Racing is one of three major bet-processing companies in the U.S., along with United Tote and AmTote.
Contending that the "status quo is not sustainable," a draft report from a committee examining the finances and future of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has recommended that Monmouth Park hold a 50-day Thoroughbred meet and that the Meadowlands cease hosting Thoroughbred races altogether.
The New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation will shut down as of the close of business on March 30 if it does not receive assurances from the state legislature that elements of its reorganization plan will be approved, according to officials of the organization.