A blackout of simulcast signals from Texas Thoroughbred tracks in out-of-state markets is unlikely to end anytime soon, Texas racing participants said recently, approximately one year after an impasse between Texas regulators and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority put Texas racetracks in a bubble.

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Trainers whose horses test positive for certain banned substances under new rules being enforced by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit will no longer be suspended prior to a split sample from the horse confirming the positive, HIWU and its administrator, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said Friday.

Midwestern trainer John T. Brown has been suspended 18 months after a horse he trained tested positive for isoxsuprine, a vasodilator that is banned under new rules that went into force on May 22 and that replaced a rule that had previously treated the drug as a regulated substance in most U.S. racing jurisdictions.

No owner had more horses reach the winner’s circle at Golden Gate Fields earlier this year than Johnny Taboada.

Taboada, a Northern California-based mortgage broker, won 24 races during the marathon meeting from late December to early June. Currently, Taboada has horses racing in Minnesota and California. He is an active breeder in California, and is a board member for the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has modified the penalties for horses that workout within prohibited time periods after receiving an intra-articular injection to treat swelling and lameness in joints, sharply reducing the suspensions that would have applied to trainers.

Total handle on U.S. Thoroughbred races dropped in the month of June compared to the same month last year, but the number of races held dropped at double the rate, according to figures released by Equibase on Thursday.

Total handle in June dropped 4.1 percent to $934.9 million, according to Equibase, but the number of races held in the month dropped 8.8 percent. As a result, average handle per race jumped 5.2 percent, from $290,413 in July of last year to $305,409 in June of this year. 

A study examining the use of hair in detecting the administration of bisphosphonates in horses has determined that the method can consistently detect the substances up to six months after administration, the study’s authors said on Thursday, although the results also found some shortcomings in reliability.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has temporarily limited the penalties against trainers for violating a rule that prohibits working a horse within seven days of the horse receiving an intra-articular injection, HISA officials confirmed on Thursday.

The developer of a wearable technology designed to monitor stride abnormalities in horses on Monday urged Kentucky trainers to view the device as a tool to identify at-risk horses, one week after he upset many horsemen in the state with comments related to the rash of horses that died at Churchill Downs in May.