Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment, the two largest racetrack operators in the U.S., have joined Empire Racing Associates in its bid to secure the franchise held by the New York Racing Association, the companies announced jointly late on Tuesday night.
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Corey Johnsen has been named president of MEC operations in the Southwest by Magna Entertainment. Johnsen, 52, is the president of Lone Star Park near Dallas, which is owned by Magna, and will now hold the title of president at the Magna-owned Remington Park in Oklahoma City. Johnsen's responsibilities will also extend to all MEC legislative activities in Texas and Oklahoma, and he will be involved in the operation of Maronas, a racetrack in Uruguay.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Alan Hevesi, the state comptroller of New York, has asked the committee that is overseeing the bidding process for the New York Racing Association franchise to require that new franchise holders comply with recommendations made by a court-appointed monitoring firm to ensure the integrity of racing and wagering.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority has distributed a memo to all Kentucky tracks stating that the commission will begin enforcing a rule requiring jockeys to wear helmets that have been certified by an equestrian organization for safety standards.
The memo, which is dated Aug. 11, states that the rule will be enforced beginning Sept. 6, the start of the Turfway Park meet in Florence, Ky. The helmets must meet so-called ATSM-SEI certifications.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Scientific Games Corporation, the bet-processing company and lottery-equipment supplier, has purchased an equity stake in Empire Racing Associates, the fast-growing partnership that intends to bid on the franchise held by the New York Racing Association, Empire announced on Thursday.
Scientific Games, which is based in Manhattan, is the parent company of Scientific Games Racing, the bet-processing company that has the largest market share for parimutuel wagering in the U.S.
Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of Gulfstream Park in Florida, will proceed with its plans to construct a slot-machine facility at Gulfstream despite the reinstatement on Tuesday of a lawsuit challenging a referendum sponsored by a group it supported - Floridians for a Level Playing Field - Magna said in a release late Wednesday.
"MEC believes that [Tuesday's] decision is incorrect and if a trial were to be held, that [Floridians for a Level Playing Field] would prevail on the merits," the statement said.
A court of appeals in Florida has reinstated a lawsuit challenging the validity of a constitutional amendment allowing for slot machines in the state, but the development is not expected to immediately affect plans to install the machines at Gulfstream Park.
Churchill Downs Inc. had net income of $33.4 million in the second quarter of 2006, a 47.5 percent increase over net income of $22.7 million in the second quarter of last year, according to financial statements released late on Tuesday.
Earnings per share in the quarter was $2.45, well above the consensus estimate of analysts of $1.97 a share. Earnings were boosted in the quarter by $9.6 million that Churchill realized from insurance claims on weather-related damage last year to two of its tracks, Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Ellis Park in Kentucky.
Gary Birzer, the jockey who was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident at Mountaineer in 2004, has reached a settlement with the Jockeys' Guild over a lawsuit he filed last year against the guild and its officers, Birzer's lawyer and the national manager of the guild said Monday.
The settlement was reached on Friday in the Central Division of United States District Court in Los Angeles between Birzer's lawyer, Paul Koczkur, and the guild's national manager, Dwight Manley. Terms of the settlement are confidential, both said.