Magna Entertainment Corp. will attempt to find buyers for its Thistledown racetrack near Cleveland and its interest in Portland Meadows and the track's offtrack betting parlors in Oregon, the company announced late on Wednesday.

A release from the company said that Magna had decided to sell the racetracks and OTBs because both had incurred ongoing losses. Magna, the largest racetrack operator in the U.S., has lost more than $325 million over the past three years and is carrying $500 million in debt on its balance sheet.

Magna Entertainment Corp. will attempt to find buyers for its Thistledown racetrack near Cleveland and its interest in Portland Meadows and the track's offtrack betting parlors in Oregon, the company announced late on Wednesday.

A release from the company said that Magna had decided to sell the racetracks and off track parlors because both had incurred ongoing losses. Magna, the largest racetrack operator in the United States, has lost more than $325 million over the past three years and is carrying $500 million in debt on its balance sheet.

The selected portion of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's Canadian-bred yearling sale at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion on Tuesday saw decreases in gross receipts (9.8 percent) and average price (7.6 percent)

During the session, 159 yearlings grossed $6,374,000, while averaging $40,088. Last year, 163 head brought $7,072,500, for an average of $43,390.

A total of 59 were listed as not sold, compared with 48 last year.

The agreement between the New York Racing Association and Gov. Eliot Spitzer that would extend NYRA's franchise for 30 years is expected to find wide support in the state's assembly but faces an uphill battle in the senate, political and racing officials said on Wednesday.

Jazil, the 2006 Belmont Stakes winner, has been retired to stud at Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Ky., according to a Tuesday press release.

Jazil bruised a cannon bone after the Belmont and did not race again for about seven months. His final race was a 12th-place finish in the Grade 3 Elkhorn at Keeneland in April.

“We felt it was in the best interest of the horse to retire him,” Rick Nichols, vice president and general manager of Shadwell, said in the release.

The New York Racing Association and New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer have reached an agreement that would extend NYRA's franchise to operate the state's three largest racetracks for the next 30 years in exchange for the association's abdication of its ownership claims of the tracks and its aid in selecting an operator for a slot-machine casino at Aqueduct racetrack, NYRA officials and Spitzer said on Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's Darley organization has purchased a half-interest in Irish Group 2 winner New Approach from Jackie Bolger, whose husband Jim Bolger trains the 2-year-old Galileo colt. Jackie Bolger will continue to own a 50 percent share in New Approach, and Jim Bolger will continue to train him. . . . Proud Accolade, a Grade 1 winner who has stood at his owners' Padua Stables in Florida since 2006, will relocate to Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., for the 2008 season.

The average price from 112 yearlings sold at Tuesday's 2007 Alberta Thoroughbred sale dropped slightly from the 2006 edition, working out to $11,016, a decline of 1 percent from last year's average of $11,143 from 119 sold.

Rennie Gellner, who soon will be retiring as manager of the Alberta division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, oversaw his final summer yearling sale.

"Overall, we were pleased the market remained strong," said Gellner.

Trainer Patrick Biancone was issued a 15-day suspension on Thursday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority after one of his horses tested positive for caffeine and a related drug following a race at Churchill Downs in May.

Biancone will serve the suspension from Sept. 5 to Sept. 19, according to Lisa Underwood, the executive director of the authority.

According to Underwood, Biancone has told the authority that he will not appeal the suspension.

The New York Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering has scheduled a public meeting on Sept. 12 to discuss the award of the franchise currently held by the New York Racing Association, the chairman of the committee, Sen. William Larkin, said on Thursday.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is expected to issue his recommendation on how the franchise should be awarded on Sept. 4, but last weekend, Spitzer said that the release of his recommendation may be delayed. Both the governor and the legislature will need to approve any deal to award the franchise.