LEXINGTON, Ky. - D. G. Van Clief Jr., chairman of Fasig-Tipton, has reason to be satisfied with the current state of affairs at the nation's oldest Thoroughbred auction house. Despite a tougher economy, the sale company's 2008 Saratoga select yearling auction managed to bring in figures close to last year's. And the company's long-term future looks bright, thanks to Fasig-Tipton's April sale to the Dubai-based Synergy corporation.

It's hard to believe that just 17 years ago Fasig-Tipton was on the brink of closure.

The Keeneland Association has hired an architectural firm to evaluate its existing facilities and develop plans for a possible renovation, the company announced on Thursday.

The architectural firm, HOK Sport, recently developed the master plan for a $400 million renovation of Ascot Racecourse in England. That project was the most high-profile renovation of a racetrack since Arlington Racecourse was rebuilt outside of Chicago in 1989.

Revenue for Television Games Network in the second quarter of 2008 was $13 million, a decline of 13 percent compared to revenue of $14.7 million in the second quarter last year, according to financial documents released Thursday by the account-wagering company’s parent.

Churchill Downs Inc. expects to open a casino at Calder Race Course in Florida in the second quarter of 2009, officials of the company said on a conference call Wednesday morning to discuss second-quarter earnings.

The chairman of Magna Entertainment Corp., the struggling racetrack owner and operator, acknowledged on Wednesday that the company would be unable to retire its debt as planned by the end of this year and may need to put its most high-profile tracks on the sales block, citing the downturn in the real-estate market.

Magna Entertainment Corp., the struggling racetrack owner and operator, had a net loss of $21.3 million in the second quarter of 2008, a slight improvement over its 2007 second-quarter results, according to financial statements released late on Tuesday night.

Churchill Downs Inc. had net income of $29.4 million in the second quarter of 2008, even with its results of last year during the second quarter, according to financial documents released Tuesday.

Revenue during the quarter was $179.3 million, according to the statements, an increase of 6 percent over second-quarter revenue of $169.9 million in 2007.

Revenue at Churchill's Calder Race Course in Florida was down $6 million in the quarter from last year, largely because of the unavailability of the track's signal in out-of-state locations because of a dispute with horsemen.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Barry Irwin, head of the public racing syndicate Team Valor International, found himself in a familiar position Monday night at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling auction. He stood, smiling blissfully, with a dozen camera lenses and tape recorders pointing at his face. In his right hand was the buyer's receipt for Hip No. 80, a Storm Cat half-sister to Grade 1 winner Lil's Lad. The session-topping price of $1,500,000 was written across the top, and Irwin's signature was scrawled across the bottom.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The New York legislature will find it difficult to justify giving the racing industry a cut of slot-machine revenues in the future, unless the New York Racing Association is able to generate increases in attendance at its three racetracks, a former government official said at a law conference here Tuesday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs South near Ocala, Fla., will open its doors to clients and abandon its annual spring juvenile sale, Stronach announced Friday.

Previously, Adena Springs South’s training facilities were private and used for Adena Springs horses. Stronach has conducted a sale of 2-year-olds there since 2002, when he announced he would auction two-thirds of that year’s Adena Springs juvenile crop.