The New York Racing Association sustained declines in attendance and handle in 2005.

Average daily ontrack handle on NYRA races was down 4.4 percent, from $1,341,620 in 2004 to $1,282,331. Total handle on NYRA races declined 4.2 percent from a daily average of $10,875,566 in 2004 to $10,414,102 in 2005.

Ontrack attendance declined 6.2 percent from a daily average of 8,216 in 2004 to 7,703 in 2005. Total ontrack attendance was 1,956,555 in 2005, down 6.6 percent from 2,095,156 in 2004. There were 254 racing dates in 2005, one less than in 2004.

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board has passed an emergency regulation that will allow the board to collect prerace blood samples from horses in order to test for the use of alkalizing agents, a banned treatment commonly referred to as milkshaking, a board official said Friday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Following Thursday's quarantine of another barn at Pimlico for a suspected case of the equine herpes virus, the New York Racing Association on Friday announced it will ban all shippers from the state of Maryland until further notice.

Last week, NYRA had placed a ban on horses stabled just at Pimlico. Now, the ban has extended to Laurel and Bowie. NYRA also said horses shipping from New York to race at Laurel would not be allowed re-entry onto NYRA grounds.

A New York state racing lobbying group is urging legislators to require that any bidders for the franchise held by the New York Racing Association put up at least $10 million for backstretch improvements at NYRA's three racetracks, Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga.

The recommendation arose from a study conducted by the lobbying group, Friends of New York Racing, according to the group's president, Tim Smith. The group was founded late in 2004 to lobby for changes to New York's racing law before the expiration of NYRA's racing franchise at the end of 2007.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The California Horse Racing Board approved a proposal to eliminate coupled entries at its monthly meeting on Thursday. The rule change would not be implemented for several months at the earliest.

The rule change must undergo a 45-day public comment period before being resubmitted to the board for further discussion and a vote. If no changes are made to the language, the rule must still be approved by the state attorney general's office before it goes into effect.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Budget proposals released by the governors of Kentucky and Maryland on Tuesday indicate that it is unlikely legislation establishing slot machines or other forms of casino gaming at racetracks in those states will make much progress this year. A New York budget proposal, meanwhile, calls for increased competition for existing racetrack casinos through the legalization of three additional slot-machine facilities.

The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has formed a committee to establish a recommended threshold level for the detection of cocaine in postrace urine tests, officials for the association said Tuesday.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority on Tuesday approved a set of regulations that would govern account-wagering hubs and assess fees on their operations.

No national account-wagering hubs are currently located in Kentucky, but state racing officials hope that the rules will generate interest from telephone and Internet betting companies that currently have their hubs in Oregon.

Russell Baze, the northern California-based jockey who is the second-winningest North American rider in history, will receive the 2005 Isaac Murphy Award, the National Turf Writers Association announced Tuesday.

The Isaac Murphy Award is given annually to the jockey who rides the highest percentage of winners from mounts during the year, with a minimum of 500 mounts. In 2005, Baze won on 375 of 1,246 mounts, for a winning percentage of 30.1.

With the 2005 award, Baze has won the Isaac Murphy nine out of the last 10 years. In 2004, Baze finished second to Ramon Dominguez.

The Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a request by a harness track to allow bet denominations lower than one dollar, opening the way for dime superfecta betting in the state.

The request was made by Ocean Downs, a harness track in eastern Maryland, according to Mike Hopkins, the executive director of the racing commission. Regulators will likely be able to adopt formal rules lowering the minimum bet in both harness racing and Thoroughbred racing by May, Hopkins said.