Beth Bungert, who has worked in a variety of positions at racetracks over the past 20 years, including as a veterinary assistant and racing official, has been hired to the new position of safety steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the regulatory agency announced Tuesday.

Handle on U.S. races held in August this year declined 7.30 percent while the number of races held dropped 5.76 percent, according to figures released by Equibase on Tuesday.

The total handle figure for the month, $1.107 billion, dropped $87 million compared to handle in August of last year, as U.S. racetracks held nearly 200 less races. During the month, there were eight weekend dates, identical to August of last year.

Average handle per race in the month was $345,551, a decline of 1.63 percent compared to August of last year, when average handle per race was $351,283.

The National Turf Writers and Broadcasters has selected the connections of multiple graded stakes winner Cody’s Wish to receive its Mr. Fitz Award for “typifying the spirit of racing,” the organization announced on Friday, along with three other award winners.

Cody’s Wish was named after Cody Dorman, a child with a rare genetic disease, called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, after the two bonded when the horse was just a weanling at Gainsborough Farm. Cody’s Wish has continued to demonstrate affection for Dorman as he matured and developed into one of the best sprinters in the U.S.

Ben Perkins Sr., a New Jersey horsemen who during a 60-year career rode, prepped, bought, trained, pinhooked, and sold horses, died on Wednesday in a hospice facility, his son, Ben Perkins Jr., said on Thursday. Perkins Sr. was 89.

His father died “peacefully surrounded by his family,” said Ben Perkins Jr., a notable trainer in his own right.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — In advance of similar protocols proposed by the New York State Gaming Commission earlier this year, the New York Racing Association on Wednesday announced it would begin requiring horses entering races at its tracks to be examined by an attending veterinarian within 72 hours of entry time.

Churchill Downs Inc. plans to open six sports-betting locations at its Kentucky properties on Sept. 7, including two in the Louisville area, the company said on Wednesday.

The company, which owns three Thoroughbred tracks and one harness track in Kentucky, said that sports betting operations would begin on Sept. 7 at each of the tracks and at two casinos the company owns, one in Louisville and one in Northern Kentucky. Regulators set Sept. 7 as the date when sports betting could begin at Kentucky bricks-and-mortar locations. Mobile sports betting will launch as of Sept. 28.

Anthony Manganaro, chairman and co-owner of Siena Farm in Paris, Ky., died Sunday at his summer home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 79.

Manganaro, who grew up outside of Boston, was successful in a number of business ventures, including supply-distribution company Boston Medical Corporation; the real estate development firm Siena Corporation in Maryland; and ezStorage Corporation, one of the nation’s largest regional self-storage companies. That allowed him to later delve into an interest in horse racing developed when attending the races at Suffolk Downs as a young man.

Cave Rock, one of the leading 2-year-olds of 2022, was euthanized on Friday from the effects of laminitis, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert announced on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Cave Rock did not race this year, but was in light training last month when he was sent to a San Diego-area equine clinic to be treated for colic. Cave Rock underwent surgery and initially showed signs of recovery before his condition deteriorated, veterinarian Vince Baker wrote in a statement posted by Baffert.

Successful owner and breeder Alex G. Campbell, Jr., died Aug. 15 in Delray, Fla. He was 95.

Campbell achieved his first stakes winner in 1985 in Kentucky, but his colors truly rose to prominence in the 1990s in California. Homebred Queens Court Queen winning the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap in 1995, and her half-brother Mr Purple winning the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap the following year.

If you are hearing more talk about computerized robotic wagering programs lately, it’s probably because a lot more people have begun to talk about what to do about computerized robotic programs.