All-sources handle on North American Thoroughbred races in the second quarter of 2006 was up marginally compared to the second quarter last year, and purses in the quarter increased 3.6 percent, according to statistics released on Monday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Equibase.

Churchill Downs Inc. has named Robert L. Evans, a former senior executive at a variety of manufacturing and private-equity companies, to replace Tom Meeker as its president and chief executive, the company announced Wednesday.

Evans, 53, who is also the owner of a 260-acre commercial breeding operation called Tenlane Farm near Versailles, Ky., will start in his new positions on Aug. 14. Meeker will resign on that date, but continue to serve in an "advisory role" through the end of his employment contract in March of 2007, Churchill said.

Gulfstream Park has named Bill Murphy as its new vice president and general manager of racing operations. The announcement was made Tuesday by Don Amos, president and chief operating officer of Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Gulfstream.

Murphy, 55, has been vice president and general manager of Thistledown since 1997. He will continue to oversee operations at Thistledown, another Magna track, along with his new duties at Gulfstream, since the two meets do not conflict.

Churchill Downs Inc. has named Robert S. Evans, a former senior executive at a variety of manufacturing and private-equity companies, to replace Tom Meeker as its president and chief executive, the company announced on Wednesday.

Evans, 53, who has owned and bred Thoroughbreds for 20 years, according to a statement released by Churchill, will start in his new positions on Aug. 14. Meeker will resign on that date, but continue to serve in an "advisory role" through the end of his employment contract in March of 2007, Churchill said.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Officials at Churchill Downs have asked the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority to change three rules regarding scratches and entries in an effort to boost field sizes at the state's racetracks.

At a meeting on Monday, the racing authority agreed to consider the rule changes, which would eliminate so-called "jail time" requirements and make it harder for trainers to scratch horses after entry. The authority is considering a complete overhaul of Kentucky's rules, a process that is not expected to begin until later this year.

Jockeys Kent Desormeaux, Corey Nakatani, and Jeremy Rose plan to appeal suspensions that were approved on Monday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority for violating rules regarding advertising during the 2005 Kentucky Derby, the jockeys and their representatives said Tuesday.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority on Monday approved 15-day suspensions for jockeys Kent Desormeaux and Jeremy Rose for violating rules on jockey advertising during the 2005 Kentucky Derby and for disregarding the stewards. In addition, the authority approved a five-day suspension for jockey Corey Nakatani for violating the rules.

The ruling came after a hearing officer for the authority heard appeals of the stewards' initial ruling, released just after the 2005 Derby, which suspended the three riders for seven days each and fined them $5,000 each.

Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to sell Ellis Park in Kentucky to Ron Geary, a retired Louisville businessman, who will take over immediate management of the facility, the two parties announced Monday, two days before Ellis opens its summer meet.

Geary, who retired on June 22 as the chief executive officer of ResCare, a Louisville-based company that provides services to people with disabilities, was approved as the manager of Ellis Park at a Kentucky Horse Racing Authority meeting on Monday.

The committee overseeing the bidding process for the franchise held by the New York Racing Association has pushed back its deadlines by two weeks because of the recent hospitalization of its executive director, the committee announced Friday.

Robert Williams, the executive director of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing, was admitted to the hospital on June 30 with a serious leg infection, according to a statement from the committee. Williams spent several days in the hospital and at home recuperating, but "is now back hard at work," the statement said.

The committee overseeing the bidding process for the franchise held by the New York Racing Association has pushed back its deadlines by two weeks because of the recent hospitalization of its executive director, the committee announced on Friday.

Robert Williams, the executive director of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing, was admitted to the hospital on June 30 with a serious leg infection, according to a statement by the committee. Williams spent several days in the hospital and at home recuperating, but "is now back hard at work," the statement said.